Tech 3 Racing Team riders Xavier Simeon and Bradley Smith will start tomorrow's Sachsenring Moto2 race from fourth and ninth respectively after both challenged for pole position in a rain-affected qualifying session.
Simeon and Smith demonstrated the high potential of the French-built Mistral 610 machine in tricky conditions to occupy the top two places on the timesheets in an exciting qualifying session.
The Moto2 field ma naged to avoid the torrential rain that played a key role in the earlier Moto3 and MotoGP sessions but the surface was still treacherously wet and posed a difficult challenge for Simeon and Smith.
A maiden front row start looked to be within the grasp of Belgian rider Simeon when he began pushing in improving conditions in the closing stages of the session. He was on course to better his time of 1.34.908 but ran off track at the fast Turn 8 and after wrestling to keep control of his Mistral 610 machine, he suffered a low speed tumble in the gravel trap.
Simeon still equalled his best ever qualifying performance with fourth and he was only 0.047s away from Mika Kallio in third.
British rider Smith also saw an opportunity to score his first front row start of 2012 slip f rom his grasp when he succumbed to the tricky conditions while aiming to improve his best pace of 1.35.238.
A small crash cost him precious track time and Smith slipped down to the third row. Having finished third quickest in practice though the 21-year-old is optimistic that he will be competing for a second successive top six finish in tomorrow's 29-lap race.
Xavier Simeon 4th 1.34.686 – 23 laps:
“That was a very difficult qualifying session because the track was changing all the time and it was making it hard to understand where the limit was. Nevertheless I was very fast right from the start and I had a very good feeling with the Mistral 610 machine. At the end of the session I put in a new rear tyre but didn't feel comfortable with it, so I came back in for an old tyre with five minutes remaining and I felt I could push again with the same confidence as before. There was a dry line on the track and it looked like I might have been able to get pole position but I lost the rear at Turn 8. It was unfortunate to make that mistake because I am sure I would have been at least on the front row for the first time in my career. Fourth still equals my best ever grid position and with this track being so tight and hard to pass on, I have given myself a great chance of getting a positive result tomorrow.”
Bradley Smith 9th 1.35.238 – 16 laps:
“I've got mixed emotions because I missed a lot of track time at the end because of the crash but I am still on the third row and that means I have a chance of a good result tomorrow. Overtaking on this tight track is very dif ficult and any further back makes it very difficult to go with the leading group in the early laps. But I'm also disappointed because today was a great opportunity to be on pole position. I am sorry to my Tech 3 Racing crew because it was my mistake and we missed a great chance to be the fastest rider today. It can happen when you are pushing hard in tricky conditions like that and I am confident that in the wet or dry tomorrow I am going to be very competitive. Making a good start will be crucial to stay out of trouble at the tight first corner and hopefully we can be battling close to the podium again like in Assen last weekend.
Tech 3 Racing Press Release
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