Alessandro Tonucci, after lapping fast during free practice, confirmed his chemistry with the Czech track by being among the Top 10 for most of the qualifying session and posting the 12th-best time with a 2'09"498, 1''4 behind poleman Viñales, which granted him a fourth-row start. He also showed a strong pace, and can climb further positions during the race.
Fenati suffered some bad luck, as he was constantly in the Top 5 during the first half of the session but crashed out without consequences toward the end. His bike came back in the pits with only a few minutes to go and the crew worked strenuously to give him a chance to do a couple more laps, but he could not improve his best time of 2'09"532.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who rides for Team Italia in the CIV Moto3 championship and replaces temporarily Jack Miller, qualified in 25th position with a 2'11"108.
Alessandro Tonucci (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#19) 16 laps with a 2'09"498
"I'm very happy about today. I had a strong qualifying session and barely missed the Top 10. I focused on race pace and I can fight at the top tomorrow. We'll tweak a few more things during warm-up and I can't wait for the lights to go off."
Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#5) 8 laps with a 2'09"532
"Things were going well but I lost the front toward the end and I couldn't fight for better positions. I have a good pace and will try to climb my way back during the race. I like the track, and we'll use the warm-up to try to be even faster."
Roberto Locatelli (FMI Technical Coordinator)
"Tonucci had a strong qualifier after improving constantly since the first free practice session. Fenati was penalized by his crash, but his race pace can help him score important points. Special thanks to the team, who rebuilt his bike quickly. We can do well tomorrow."
Team Italia FMI Press Release
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