Maria Herrera qualifies 25th at Misano, Jorge Navarro to sit out the race

The second day of the San Marino GP got underway without the presence of Jorge Navarro and Fabio Quartararo, due to crashes suffered yesterday by the two riders. Maria Herrera, who quickly lowered her times from Friday, qualified twenty-fifth on the grid and was less than 1.5 seconds off Enea Bastianini’s pole time.

The Spaniard improved by more than two seconds on her best lap in the last free practice session. In qualifying, despite the traffic she encountered on track, Herrera stopped the clock at 1:43.949. This lap was just 1.463s slower than that which earned pole position at Misano.

Caution prevailed in the case of Jorge Navarro, who ultimately missed the day’s action due to petechiae suffered in yesterday’s crash. To avoid any risks, Dr. Charte prescribed him rest until the middle of next week, when he will undergo an MRI in Valencia to confirm his full recovery and resume physical activity that same day. His teammate, Fabio Quartararo, will travel to Barcelona today –where Dr. Xavier Mir and his team will carry out further tests to determine the exact extent of the injury to the outer malleolus of his right foot.

Jorge Navarro
“This morning I had to visit the doctors at the circuit and their position was quite clear. After the heavy knock from yesterday, the sensible thing was not to go out on track and rest up in order to be fit for Aragon. Yesterday I felt a little dizzy but not faint, although I wasn’t feeling very well. Last night I went to bed early, I rested up and I got up feeling well this morning. I remember the crash; I know I got to the back straight behind someone else, I passed him almost when entering the corner and I had to tuck in a little more than usual, clipping the rumble strip with the front wheel. The front slipped and, when I fell, the other rider could not avoid the collision because we were so close together. Physically I have nothing wrong, only a burn to the back of my shoulder and a painful finger, but nothing major. It’s a shame not to ride here, but now I’ll be spending a few days at home resting and on Wednesday or Thursday I’ll be examined again. If everything is correct, we will begin to prepare for the Aragon GP.”

Maria Herrera
“It was a difficult day for us. In the last free practice I felt comfortable and I lowered my time from yesterday by almost two and a half seconds, which is good. In the qualifying session I encountered a lot of other riders on track, and many who were stopped and got in my way. I needed space to go at my own pace, but I didn’t find it and we were not able to improve. However, I think we are not as far back as it appears and tomorrow we will have to make a good start. If we find a good setup, I will be able to fight and gain positions.”

Source: Repsol Media