Aleix Espargaro takes 11th spot on grid for US Grand Prix

The second day of action at Laguna Seca saw mixed conditions once again as the third free practice session took place in cool and misty weather this morning before the sun came out to warm things up in the afternoon.

If the change in temperature was predictable the front row of the MotoGP grid certainly wasn’t, with German rider Stefan Bradl taking advantage of a crash for free practice pacesetter Marc Marquez to secure his maiden pole position. Alvaro Bautista completes the front row although none of the top three today were able to threaten Jorge Lorenzo’s pole record of 1’20.554 set in 2012.

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Aleix Espargaró has led the way all season in the CRT class and there were no surprises this afternoon as he set the best lap for the ninth time out of nine qualifying sessions so far. The Spaniard qualified directly for Q2, where he was joined by his team-mate Randy De Puniet, who graduated from Q1 but was unable to improve any further after crashing no sooner had the session started. It means the Frenchman will line up in twelfth place tomorrow, one place behind Aleix, on the fourth row of the grid.

11th Aleix Espargaró 1’22.099:
“We had a great day yesterday with an almost perfect feeling for the bike and a lap time that was only half a second off the top. This morning we had a little more trouble getting the bike turned, maybe because of the conditions, but this afternoon I had my feeling back and I was able to set a lot of laps in the low 1’22s, which means that we are still competitive. I was hoping to be a little further forward on the grid but eleventh place is good, I’m happy with the job we’ve done. Tomorrow I will try to take off as quick as I can and see if I can stick with the Ducatis. Everything is very tight but we have a good pace so hopefully I can enjoy the race.”

Source: Aspar Media