GONZALEZ AND ARENAS PROVISIONALLY IN Q2
We are in Indonesia, at the Mandalika circuit: the two Gresini riders were competitive straight away as they scored a top ten finish in the morning Free Practice. Manuel Gonzalez used the first day to get used to the different climate conditions, both physically and with the bike. He wrapped the day in eighth place: he is still missing something to be at the top, but he still has one session tomorrow to seal the direct seed to Q2, where the goal is to secure a spot on the front two rows of the grid.
Albert Arenas saved his day with a 1’34.361 lap-time in Practice1: the Spaniard, fresh from a contract extension, had to get back to the pit-box after a crash. He still managed to get back on track thanks to the efficient work done by the crew, and to set a strong lap-time that currently sees his in Q2. He still has to confirm a top-14 position tomorrow morning, before trying to make the difference in qualifying.
8th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18 (1’34.158)
“A very different day compared to the previous races in Europe: a very different track, with different climate conditions, so a day is needed to get used to all of it on a physical level, but also with regards to the bike. This afternoon we tried to push a bit more and I didn’t feel too comfortable: we didn’t do a bad job, but we’ll need to improve some more. We still have two sessions tomorrow, enough time to get ready for the race.”
13th – ALBERT ARENAS #75 (1’34.361)
“A busy day: the feeling was good straight away but then a crash in the second session cost us some time. The team did an incredible job as they fixed the bike and gave me an opportunity to do a long run in the last part of Practice1, which allowed me to give me information for tomorrow, for some further small adjustment ahead of qualifying.”
