Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website MOTOGP - SMITH AND ESPARGARO MISS Q2 AT MOTOGP GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN BY ONLY FRACTIONS OF A SECOND
ottobre 20, 2018 - KTM

MOTOGP - SMITH AND ESPARGARO MISS Q2 AT MOTOGP GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN BY ONLY FRACTIONS OF A SECOND

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Red Bull KTM’s #bradleysmith and #polespargaro were within hundredths of a second of making the Q2 qualification cut at a sunny #motegi today. The pair showed promising speed at the Japanese circuit with the KTM RC16 and will line-up 13th and 14th respectively on the grid for the sixteenth round of nineteen in 2018 #motogp tomorrow.
MotoGP
The distinctive curves and demanding sections of the Twin Ring #motegi opened the first of MotoGP’s ‘triple’, taking in #japan, Australia and Malaysia in three weeks. Red Bull KTM Factory #racing arrived with the rest of the paddock to the renowned course and were happy to find bright weather conditions for the last Free Practice sessions and Qualification runs today.

Heavy on braking and acceleration, #motegi is a special test for the riders and their technical set-ups and both #bradleysmith and #polespargaro got down to work immediately; setting lap-times that placed both KTM RC16 motorcycles in the midst of the #motogp pack.

When it came to a frantic Q1 session Smith’s penultimate effort meant he was just seven hundredths of a second from Takaai Nakagami at the chequered flag and from the last slot to make the Q2 cut. Espargaro was not far behind with his final flying lap: only two hundredths from his teammate.

With good potential for the 24 lap (115km) race tomorrow Red Bull KTM Factory #racing Team will be looking to continue their buoyant run on Japanese soil so far.

Smith: “Overall it was a positive day. We played the ‘long game’ because I didn't have the best feeling yesterday so we tried a lot of ideas and used bike one and two as much as possible. Some ideas were working and some weren’t and that was right through FP4. It was a bit stressful but I felt that the package was coming together. At the right moment I set a good rhythm in FP4 and I was confident that we had a good motorcycle for qualifying. It is a shame we had some yellow flags because it held me up in sectors 3 and 4 of the last lap and it would have been nice to go to Q2. Anyway, 13th is a good position for us and I’m excited to see what happens tomorrow. We’ve created a stable bike for all the hard braking points here in #motegi – it will be a tough race but we’ll try to take advantage of our good set-up as much as possible.”

Espargaro: “We should be happy, we are doing a good job here in #japan. FP4 did not go as expected and we had the chance to go into Q2 and every time we put a Ssft tyre it was a big mess. Finally we got the result we wanted with the tyre but it was too late and for qualifying you need everything to go perfectly to get the lap-time. Anyway, we made the top twelve with a used tyre in FP4 and we’ll be looking for the same in the race.”

Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “We had to use every minute we had on the track because this place is new for us in the dry. I think our bike suits #motegi quite well. We already had a picture after FP1 that our bike is in the ballpark here. We had a few surprises with the tyres today and when they are so different then it makes our job that much harder. Anyway, overall, I think qualifying showed where we are: we’re close to Q2 but not quite there yet. We have to keep developing the bike. There is always a difference between ultimate lap-time and race pace and we will try to use this to our advantage.”

Moto2 & Moto3
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira displayed top ten speed through FP3 and confirmed the same pace in Moto2 Qualification; the Portuguese placed 9th in the final chrono for the intermediate category. Iker Lecuona was the quickest KTM Moto2-mounted racer with 3rd place.

Oliveira: "Today in qualifying we were able to improve our time from the morning, where we were focusing on the race with a full tank. In the afternoon we tried to improve the setup, but we’re still finding it hard to stop the bike on the brakes. It will be important to get the most out of the warmup tomorrow and try to find a solution that will help us to ride more comfortably. I expect a tough race, but Twin Ring #motegi has places where you can pass, so I'm optimistic about getting a good start and recovering positions on the opening laps. We will continue working hard so that tomorrow we can get the best possible result."

KTM RC250 GP machinery filled the front row of the Moto3 class in #japan. RBA BOE Skull Rider’s Gabriel Rodrigo celebrated his first Pole Position of the season and was narrowly ahead of John McPhee and Marco Bezzecchi. The Argentinian and Brit were the only riders to dip into the 1min 56 bracket. Red Bull KTM Ajo's Darryn Binder did is best qualifying of the year starting from second row on the grid tomorrow.

D. Binder: "This morning we unfortunately had a small technical problem – a different one to yesterday’s – but the team managed to resolve it quickly. At the end of the session we were able to set good times and that made me very satisfied and confident ahead of qualifying. In QP we had planned to put our best tyre on for the last stint. We worked very hard and fortunately it paid off. We were very close to the pole position time. I am very happy about how the bike is running and am keen for a great result tomorrow."

Races: October 21, 2018 – Moto3 11:00 | Moto2 12:20 | #motogp 14:00 GMT +9h

Results Qualifying #motogp Twin Ring #motegi 2018
1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati, 1:44.590 min
2. Johann Zarco (FRA), Yamaha, +0.068 sec
3. Jack Miller (AUS), Ducati, +0.137
4. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), Honda, +0.230
5. Andrea Iannone (ITA), Suzuki, +0.242
KTM
13. #bradleysmith (GBR), KTM, +1.132
14. #polespargaro (ESP), KTM, +1.152

Results Qualifying Moto2 Twin Ring #motegi 2018
1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Kalex, 1:50.759 min
2. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Speed Up, +0.165 sec
3. Iker Lecuona (ESP), KTM, +0.231
4. Marcel Schroetter (GER), Kalex, +0.284
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA), Kalex, +0.333
KTM
9. Miguel Oliveira (POR), KTM, +0.572
10. Brad Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.581

Results Qualifying Moto3 Twin Ring #motegi 2018
1. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG), KTM, 1:56.894 min
2. John McPhee (GBR), KTM, +0.075 sec
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), KTM, +0.120
4. Jorge Martin (ESP), Honda, +0.224
5. Darryn Binder (RSA), KTM, +0.226