Juanfran Guevara 12th & Jorge Martin 23rd on Argentine grid
Same two riders in the lead, different order, different conclusions. Sautrday afternoon saw the Moto3 QP at the GP of Argentina, which is taking place this weekend at the circuit of Termas de Río Hondo.
Oliveira and Kent were the fastest riders in the smaller category, like in Austin, only there the British rider was faster. In Texas those two riders were a step ahead of the rest of the pack and but here the competition are closer.
Pole went to the Portuguese rider by just 50 thousandths and from the first rider down to thirteenth there was just a second gap.
At this track several Moto3 riders are lapping very fast, with times dropping constantly right up until the end of the qualifying session and with Oliveira registering a 1’48.461 lap to take the pole.
Juanfran Guevara has progressed discreetly so far this weekend in Argentina. The MAPFRE Team Mahindra rider has managed to improve his times in each session and to give a final push in the standings.
Although the qualifying session was somewhat quiet for him, the Murcia rider took advantage on his last outing, and on the last lap completed his fastest time of the weekend to clinch 12th place.
He knows that the situation is very tight and on Sunday he will aim to fight for a position in the leading group, after concluding nine tenths off the pole.
Jorge Martin however was not so lucky in the qualifying session and will start further back on the grid in 23rd. Still, he hopes to star in a great comeback.
Juanfran Guevara, 12th, 1’49.419 (16 laps):
“On the first day I did not feel very comfortable. The set-up was fine but I just didn’t feel right. This morning I tried to change the approach and things went better, so we could improve the times. In the first lap of the qualifying session I struggled to concentrate but as the laps went by I felt comfortable to finally put myself in a good group. So I got quite positive on the last three laps, I just needed to further improve some tenths in the last sector of the circuit. The important thing is that the bike works well, I feel comfortable and confident on braking to overtake people. Tomorrow I will start from the same position as last year, but lapping two seconds faster, which shows how much the level has improved. We are nine tenths off the head, at this circuit there is a lot of braking, so we must start the race well and manage the tyres well until the end.”
Jorge Martín, 23rd, 1’49.817 (15 laps):
“Yesterday the day went very well but in QP we didn’t organize things well and that has prevented us from performing at our best. The temperature changed and I did not feel as comfortable as yesterday with my bike. Also I rode the whole session practically alone, I could not take references from other riders at a circuit where slipstreaming is very important. I did not feel comfortable when I turned the bike and it was hard to accelerate. Tomorrow we will work in the warm-up session to improve our feelings. In the race we will be looking to go very strong at the start and do everything possible to gain positions.”
Source: Aspar Media
