The 2013 Moto3 World Championship finally got underway at 6pm this evening under the floodlights of Losail, where 32 young riders had two free practice sessions in which to establish an early feeling for the slippery conditions. As usual the Qatar Grand Prix started on a dirty and dusty track but the fastest lap of the night, a 2'07.341 set by Luis Salom, is already close to last year's circuit record of 2'07.276.
It wasn't just the floodlights that lit up Losail tonight, MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger establishing a lightening pace in the opening session before ending the evening second fastest to Salom due to an oil leak that ended his track action ahead of time. His rookie team-mate Eric Granado completed his first laps of the track tonight and finished up in 21st position but with plenty of room for improvement tomorrow.
2nd Jonas Folger 2.07.633 (21 laps): “I am really happy because normally here at Losail it is difficult to get a feeling on the first day but I felt comfortable tonight. We set some fast times from the start and continued to improve in the second session although we were losing oil and had to finish early. If we'd have stayed out on track I'm sure we would have improved further and probably set the fastest time of the night but second fastest is a good start, especially because we have room to improve. We're happy with our performance and we'll keep working in the same way tomorrow night.”
21st Eric Granado 2.10.024 (27 laps): “My first impressions of Losail are good. It is varied and has some fast corners. It was a tough first session because I didn't have any references so I tried to follow some more experienced riders around and work out my braking markers. We took a big step forward in the second session and improved by a couple of seconds. We're still some way off the top times but that is to be expected until we know the track. The positive thing is we have made progress from the first session to the second and we know how to keep improving. We have to keep making small steps in the right direction.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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