With just one session on a filthy track there was no chance for the Moto3 riders to improve their pace on the second day of free practice at Losail tonight, where the rarity of desert rainfall also contributed to less than ideal conditions. Luis Salom again set the quickest time in a session dominated largely by MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger and the fight for pole tomorrow looks certain to be a straight fight between those two plus Alex Rins.
Folger's tactic was to push hard in every session and there were few riders able to live with his pace until he came in for new tyres at the end and was caught out by the surprise shower. His team-mate Eric Granado was also unlucky tonight, the Brazilian rookie struggling to cope with the dramatic changes in track conditions and also suffering a crash in the second corner.
3rd Jonas Folger 2.08.656 (10 laps):
“Even though the track conditions weren't great it was fun to ride out there tonight. There was a lot of sand on the track so we had to modify our set-up to cope with it. After dominating most of the session we came in to change tyres near the end and it started to rain so we couldn't improve our time and lost a couple of positions but I'm not worried about that. The important thing is that we have been competitive in every session so far and we have good race pace.”
23rd Eric Granado 2.11.218 (10 laps):
“The track conditions were quite different today compared to yesterday. The wind was strong and there was a lot of sand on the track surface. I struggled to get into my rhythm at the start of the session and wasn't able to get behind another rider to get some guidance, and then I braked harder than I should have in turn two and crashed. The team fixed the bike quickly and gave me time to get back out on track and do three more laps and improve my lap time. If it wasn't for the crash I would have been quicker but we'll try to make up time tomorrow and be ready for the race.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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