Difficult Qualifying For Torres And Moreno At Sepang

Tomorrow’s Moto2 race looks set to be a close and exciting one after an entertaining qualifying session held in conditions that were even hotter than the lap times at Sepang. Despite the fact the circuit stretches across 5.5km of asphalt the gaps between the top twenty riders are tight enough to suggest a huge battle for positions tomorrow. Stefan Bradl did his best to take advantage of the fact his main title rival was largely out of action, narrowly missing out on pole to Thomas Lüthi. Even though the numbers are against him the fact that Marc Márquez will start from the back of the grid and in physical difficulty means that the German could clinch the title by winning the race, providing the Spaniard scores no more than two points.

Jordi Torres and Iván Moreno continued their quest to learn the intricacies of Sepang as best they could today despite their limited experience in Moto2. Torres is still not fully fit following his crash a week ago in Australia but he worked hard on chassis set-up to find more speed in corner exit. After finishing 27th fastest, just over two seconds off the best lap time, he is hopeful of a solid race. Iván Moreno felt more comfortable on his Suter this morning but lost the front and crashed at turn three this afternoon and will start from 32nd on the grid.

27th Jordi Torres 2.09.686 (18 laps):
“The crash in Australia knocked my confidence – we have had a few crashes recently that weren’t our fault. I am still carrying some injuries so I am being extra careful because I don’t want to take any risks and crash. The problem is at a circuit like this if you are losing a tenth in every corner that adds up to a lot. The important thing is to stay positive and keep working even when things aren’t going well and believe that sooner or later things will turn around. The team are giving me a lot of support and I appreciate it. Even though the weekend hasn’t gone to plan we will do our best in the race tomorrow and try to come out with the best possible result.”

32nd Iván Moreno 2.10.875 (12 laps):
“We started the day feeling more comfortable than yesterday, my feeling for the bike improved, but we lost our way a bit this afternoon. I can’t get my head around the circuit and then this afternoon I had a really strange crash, losing the front under acceleration. It was a shame but I hope there is not much damage so that we can work well tomorrow. I feel terrible to have crashed again because the team is working very hard to make life easier for me but I am struggling to get on the pace at this track.”

Source: Aspar Media