Search for slipstream in final minutes secures Salom second row start

Luis Salom will start the 125cc race of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone from the second row on the grid. With 31 riders fighting for the best spot, Salom put in a lap time of 2.15,713: good enough for sixth spot. The Spaniard was just a second slower than Maverick Vinales who will start the 125 race from pole position. Most of the qualifying session the RW Racing GP-rider lapped on his own, with steady lap times between ninth and eleventh spot. ,,For the last three minutes I tried to find a slipstream and found it with Hector Faubel. I gained almost a second with that,’’ Salom smiled.

Team owner Roelof Waninge was more than satisfied. ,,Luis and his crew chief Hans Spaan had different ideas about the suspension: Luis wanted one way, Hans advised another way. In the end Luis listened to Hans, who is very experienced. They worked on it together and this resulted in a very good qualifying session and an excellent result.’’

Luis Salom himself was pleased as well. ,,My target for this weekend is ninth. Before I really wanted to be in top 5 and did too much to get there. The result of my ‘wanting too much too soon’ were two crashes. The team took a lot of pressure away by making clear to me top 10 is enough for now. It showed: my riding was much more relaxed. And all of a sudden I was in sixth!’’

For the race (125cc starts 14.30 local time, 15.30 CET) the weather outlook is not good. A lot of rain is expected in England on sunday afternoon. But Salom and the team are confident. ,,We were lucky with the wet session on friday afternoon, in which we could gather a lot of data and Luis set the fifth time,’’ team owner Roelof Waninge said. ,,He proved to be quick on a dry as well as a wet track. As long as he says focussed and concentrated on his own race, any result is possible. The message is: stay out of trouble and avoid to get carried away by the ambitions of other riders.’’

Source: RW Racing GP