Whilst the weather conditions were perfect at Indianapolis today the same could not be said for the track and qualifying practice for the Moto3 race had to be red-flagged on two occasions due to a series of crashes. Just seven minutes had elapsed when Héctor Faubel was thrown spectacularly over his handlebars in the final turn, causing a fifteen minute delay as the MAPFRE Aspar rider was taken to the medical centre by ambulance. Several other riders would follow him before Álex Márquez suffered a virtually identical crash to Faubel in the same spot and again the red flag was produced with only 23 seconds left on the clock, effectively signalling an early end to the session. Lap times were close to last year's 125cc records and with the top twelve lapping within the same second it promises to be a close race tomorrow.
Faubel is hoping to make a full recovery overnight after being taken to the Indianapolis Methodist Hospital for checks on his chest area. However, he remains in a lot of pain and his participation in the race is not confirmed. His new team-mate Jonas Folger has done a great job so far and will line up in fifteenth position for his debut with the MAPFRE Aspar team tomorrow. The German youngster is hoping to join in with the battle at the front after lapping a second shy of pole position.
15th Jonas Folger 1.49.656 (17 laps): “We have done a good job again today. It's just a shame we couldn't find a better setting for the front at the end but we have improved throughout the day and I'm adapting to the bike even though we need a bit more. I am sure we can find it in warm-up tomorrow. Fifteenth place is a decent result considering everything is completely new to me and I think we have a decent race pace. It is difficult to predict the result but I will push my hardest for the best possible outcome.”
29th Héctor Faubel 1.51.407 (2 laps/CRASH): “I started the session strong. The weekend has been going well and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to qualify near the front. Coming into the last corner I could feel the bike letting go and then the next thing I knew I was flying through the air and it seemed to take an age to come down. For a second my mind was blank and I don't remember the landing. It was a shame because we were expecting so much from this weekend. Now I am suffering a lot of pain in my chest and abdominal area so I hope I can recover quickly.”
Aspar Mapfre Moto3 Press Release
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