Misano on the Adriatic Coast is the destination for the World Championship this weekend, following two weeks of inactivity. It’s a popular holiday destination, but the Moto3 riders are not going to the region for anything approaching a holiday. The lower cylinder class riders are preparing for round twelve of their season. A short track 4.226km in length, flat and with slow, closed corners awaits them for Friday practice. Sandro Cortese heads the standings, with direct rivals Viñales and Salom trying to take points off his lead at every race. There will also be a significant competitive Italian presence on the grid this weekend.
The MAPFRE Aspar team head to Misano on a high after taking two of this season’s three podiums at the last pair of races. Jonas Folger had a fantastic race at Brno to win last time out, having been provided with a competitive bike by his team. The aim for this weekend is to continue his run of rostrum finishes.
Héctor Faubel also has a top three goal in mind, now back to full fitness after an intense period of physiotherapy to relieve the pain caused by his crash at Indianapolis. The Spaniard is now fighting fit for the challenge of Misano.
Jonas Folger: “My wish is to carry on my podium run at Misano and, if possible, repeat my victory from Brno. That win gave me enormous motivation and I hope to be able to carry on from where I left off on Friday. We found a good setting at Brno, but we can still improve on it so we shall get to work on that. I can’t wait to get back together with my team and head to Misano. The past two races as a MAPFRE Aspar rider have been fantastic, but I know that we can qualify better. If we can prepare everything well, then there will be nothing to worry about in the race. We have the bike; we just need to put it higher up the grid. Misano is a technical circuit in my opinion, with very slow corners and quick changes in direction. It’s not at all like Brno –it’s a small track where you have to work hard so as to not drop a single tenth. There are some corners that are key to getting a good lap time.”
Héctor Faubel: “Misano is a circuit at which I have always been fast. However, alongside Indianapolis it is a circuit at which I have never been on the podium. That’s a good motive for me to put an end to such a statistic this weekend. My bike is undergoing an evolution that is very favourable. We had a good weekend at Brno despite some problems and it was just a shame that we had more issues in the race. If we work as we did there, then we will qualify well and will be ready to race. I am now fully recovered from the knocks I took at Indianapolis, so I hope to be able to perform at my best this weekend. I just ask that everything unfolds normally in order to work without problems. I am convinced that the results will come soon. I want to get a good result for the team.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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