Maverick Viñales second on Aragon grid, Ana Carrasco excellent 16th
The riders of Team Calvo played major parts in today’s sessions at the Motorland circuit. Maverick Viñales will start tomorrow’s race as second on the grid after fighting for pole position against Alex Rins until the dying seconds of the qualifying session.
Securing this second starting position was very important as starting from the front row is crucial at this circuit because the first corner is so close. Even more so now that current championship leader Luis Salom will go into this race from 8th place. Tomorrow, Maverick’s aim will be to cut back on Salom’s points advantage as much as possible.
Ana Carrasco also played a massive part in today’s sessions. She achieved her best qualifying position to date with the 16th place on the starting grid. Her firm goal for tomorrow’s race will be to be the first Spanish female rider to collect points in the MotoGP world championship. And this time she finds herself in a position where she can do just that.
#25 Maverick Viñales – 2nd place – 1.59.273 / @maverickmack25
I’m happy because in the end we could put in a good couple of laps with much pace and rhythm and that’s very important. I’ll have to make a good start tomorrow and produce a perfect race. Rins’ fastest lap was really impressive but I’m calm because I’ve got the rhythm I need to push to the maximum and I’ll give everything I’ve got tomorrow. If nothing hinders us and we get away at the front, we have a chance to take many points off the gap to Salom who will start from further back. And I’d like to congratulate Ana who finally finds herself in a position on the starting grid that she deserves.
#22 Ana Carrasco – 16th place – 2.00.954 / @AnaCarrasco_22
Even though we missed this morning’s session due to the rain, I’m very happy. We didn’t start the qualifying that well and in the first lap the clutch broke, but ones my nerves calmed down a bit all went really well. We worked very well and the bike’s setup is good, so I believe we’re heading down the right path. To start that far up the grid will be a totally different experience for me, but we finally achieved what we’d been chasing all year and now we just have to enjoy it and make the most of it. If nothing happens I think we can finally get the result we deserve and want so much.
Pablo Nieto (Team Director) / @pablonieto22
To start from the front row is always important, and even more so here, at home and with our sponsors Calvo and JHK T-Shirt supporting us. But most of all because tomorrow will be crucial for the title fight. Salom starts from further back and this race could be decisive for the championship. I’d also like to highlight Ana’s achievement today. She’ll start from position 16 on the grid which is fantastic. All the hard work her and the team have been doing since the very first race is starting to pay off. Tomorrow she could make history and I think she’s ready for it.
Source: Team Calvo
