Scott Deroue set his mark qualifying in 18th for his maiden Grand Prix, as best of the nine rookies in Moto3. His RW Racing GP team mate Ana Carrasco will start the Grand Prix of Qatar from 25th on the grid.
The 18 years old Dutchman didn’t improve his best lap time in Qatar (2.07,984 in FP3) but his 2.08,060 proved to be enough for a good position to start his first ever Grand Prix. A strong wind made it difficult to ride the light Moto3 bikes and many riders crashed. Also Deroue was bothered by the wind and the lack of grip, but he managed to stay on his Kalex KTM and turn the circumstances to his advantage.
Ana Carrasco was hit by a different kind of trouble: a lack of confidence caused by a problem with the engine that could not be fixed at the spot. Together with engine supplier KTM the team is trying to find to solution. As a consequence Carrasco had no choice but to try her best. She managed to get the maximum out of the qualifying session and ride one perfect lap in the final minutes with which she improved her time and her position.
RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen expressed his anxiety towards Carrasco. “Ana is very upset. The team has done everything to improve the bike but it turns out to be more complicated than we expected. It’s obvious we continue working on it to give Ana the best possible material. It’s going to be another long night of hard work to get it right.
As for Scott: he did a terrific job. And it can get even better, as we know he is a racer. Let’s hope the expectations will not exaggerate by this fine result.”
Scott Deroue – 2.08,060 (18)
“In the beginning it went really bad: the wind was strong, there was sand on the track and already in the first lap Ramos crashed right in front of me. It wasn’t great. Gradually I found back confidence and I was able to do 2.09. When I came in for the second time Jarno told me I could be in the top 20. So I put my head down and gave it a go. I hooked up with McPhee, together with Ajo and Hanika, but unfortunately he couldn’t ride the top 10-times he did earlier. Otherwise there might have been more in it than P18. But I could have crashed as well… I am more than satisfied with 18th in my first Grand Prix qualification and the fact that I’m ranked first of the nine rookies. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Ana Carrasco – 2.09,084 (25)
“I’m totally upset. I’m happy that I could improve my time and move up a bit with one perfect lap, but that’s about it. There is something wrong with the engine and the team cannot fix it. My mechanics have really put their back into it, until deep in the night, but it still doesn’t feel good. Hopefully there is a solution so that I can start tomorrow’s warm-up with a good engine and we’ll be able to try something to improve the setup as well.”
RW Racing Press Release
