Elena Rosell sets aside crash in tricky conditions to take 30th on Moto2 grid

Weather played a big part in Saturday’s progress at Phillip Island. With both QMMF Racing Team riders steadily improving their feeling for the track and the set-up of their Speed Up bikes, it was only the ever-changing weather that made things difficult. When it started to rain 20 minutes from the end, it was first Elena Rosell who crashed in a highspeed turn on the damp track. The lady racer from Valencia walked away unhurt, but her bike suffered considerable damage which put an end to her session. Nevertheless, she had improved by a full three seconds compared to day one and still took 30th place on the grid. Towards the end of the session, when the track had almost dried up again, it was team-mate West who lost the front unexpectedly and slid into the grass without consequences.

Elena Rosell – 30th in 1.37,829
“I didn’t get hurt, which is a relief, but I’m a bit angry. In the first part of the qualifying session, things went really well, we improved heaps in comparison to yesterday and I had a really good rhythm. I then came in for a tyre change and while I was in the garage, I saw that it was drizzling outside, especially in the third and fourth section of the track. I went out again with my new tyres when the rain had stopped and I just gathered momentum when I arrived at this fast corner and lost the front in the same instant in which I tried to change direction. I was really upset because I wasn’t able to continue with the session because I think I could have gone faster and qualified better than in 30th place. Now my team has a lot of work to do, because the corner was so fast and the bike didn’t survive the crash very well. It was an unfortunate crash because I had been in the garage and I didn’t know that the track conditions were worse in this remote part of the circuit. Last weekend in Malaysia, we managed to progress throughout the weekend without one single incident. Here, we also improved rapidly without making grave errors, so it was really unfortunate to crash due to the circumstances today. Luckily, the weather forecast for tomorrow is better, so I hope to have a good race and to be able to fight with some of the guys even though they all have so much more experience than I do!”

Source: QMMF