Bittersweet qualifying day in Jerez for Albert Arenas and Raul Fernandez

The fourth round of the Moto3 World Championship will see four Italian riders line up in the front five positions on the grid, with Lorenzo dalla Porta taking pole position this afternoon at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto. Tatsuki Suzuki is ahead of Celestino Vietti on the front row of the grid, with both riders having come through Q1, whilst joint series leaders Jaume Masiá and Aron Canet will line up fifteenth and seventh respectively.

It was a bittersweet day of Moto3 qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix for the Sama Qatar Ángel Nieto Team, with both riders accessing Q2 directly for the first time this season but unable to convert into top grid positions.

Albert Arenas will start from the third row after finishing ninth fastest, but he remains confident about his chances tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto.

Raúl Fernández, meanwhile, will start from seventeenth after finishing 1.6 seconds off the top. Like his teammate, the Spaniard was only able to complete a single flying lap, which limited his options of repeating his position from yesterday.

9th Albert Arenas 1:46.498 (+0.487):
“I am happy to be riding again, in good conditions and enjoying myself on the bike. We had a good feeling today but didn’t come up with the right strategy in qualifying and I didn’t get right on the pace. We need to improve that in the next races. Anyway, I feel ready and the bike is going well. Tomorrow we go into the race with no pressure, so let’s see how we do.”

17th Raúl Fernández 1:47.669 (+1.658):
“I want to apologise to the team, because we made a wrong decision with the strategy in qualifying. My position should have been on the front three rows but I didn’t listen to the team and I made a mistake. The best thing to do is accept it, turn the page and look forward to tomorrow, which will be much better.”