Bendsneyder 17th after FP2

The Termas de Rio Hondo circuit welcomed the Moto3 World Championship for the fourth consecutive year this Friday, to kick off the Argentinian GP. The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders completed their first laps of the track in Free Practice, drawing positive conclusions from the work done with the setup of their KTM bikes. Niccolo Antonelli managed to finish the day in fifth position, with his teammate Bo Bendsneyder in seventeenth. As usual at this event, the Moto3 riders were given the task of scrubbing the asphalt by putting in laps in the opening practice session. Although the track was not as dirty as in previous years, this factor coupled with high winds prevented Antonelli and Bendsneyder from riding at their quickest. They completed the first 40 minutes of practice in twelfth -1:52.700- and eighteenth -1:52.883- position, respectively. The conditions on-track improved considerably throughout the day, and this was shown in the times set during FP2. Both Antonelli and Bendsneyder took just two laps to lower their times from the morning, with the Italian making a single stop in the garage -after which he put in his best time of 1:51.093 for fifth place. Bendsneyder twice returned to the box for adjustments, and he clocked his best lap on his third outing -1:51.522, in seventeenth. After the weather-cancelled qualifying session in Qatar a fortnight ago, Saturday in Argentina marks the first timed shootout for the Moto3 class this season. Although rain is forecast, the session is set to take place at 12:35 local time.

Bendsneyder, Argentinian Moto3 2017

Results FP2:

POS Rider TEAM Fastest lap
1 Joan MIR Leopard Racing 1’50.248
2 Romano FENATI Marinelli Rivacold Snipers 1’50.812
3 Nicolo BULEGA SKY Racing Team VR46 1’50.931
4 John MCPHEE British Talent Team 1’50.940
5 Niccolò ANTONELLI Red Bull KTM Ajo 1’51.093
6 Juanfran GUEVARA RBA BOE Racing Team 1’51.098
7 Darryn BINDER Platinum Bay Real Estate 1’51.157
8 Aron CANET Estrella Galicia 0,0 1’51.191
9 Livio LOI Leopard Racing 1’51.241
10 Enea BASTIANINI Estrella Galicia 0,0 1’51.329
11 Tatsuki SUZUKI SIC58 Squadra Corse 1’51.350
12 Jorge MARTIN Del Conca Gresini Moto3 1’51.358
13 Kaito TOBA Honda Team Asia 1’51.444
14 Andrea MIGNO SKY Racing Team VR46 1’51.468
15 Adam NORRODIN SIC Racing Team 1’51.487
16 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO Del Conca Gresini Moto3 1’51.489
17 Bo BENDSNEYDER Red Bull KTM Ajo 1’51.522
18 Philipp OETTL Südmetall Schedl GP Racing 1’51.683
19 Ayumu SASAKI SIC Racing Team 1’51.717
20 Maria HERRERA AGR Team 1’51.763
21 Marcos RAMIREZ Platinum Bay Real Estate 1’51.763
22 Jakub KORNFEIL Peugeot MC Saxoprint 1’51.906
23 Jules DANILO Marinelli Rivacold Snipers 1’51.966
24 Albert ARENAS Aspar Mahindra Moto3 1’52.044
25 Lorenzo DALLA PORTA Aspar Mahindra Moto3 1’52.062
26 Tony ARBOLINO SIC58 Squadra Corse 1’52.128
27 Manuel PAGLIANI CIP 1’52.224
28 Nakarin ATIRATPHUVAPAT Honda Team Asia 1’52.413
29 Marco BEZZECCHI CIP 1’52.513
30 Gabriel RODRIGO RBA BOE Racing Team 1’52.600
 31 Patrik PULKKINEN Peugeot MC Saxoprint 1’54.167

23 NICCOLO ANTONELLI
“I think today we did quite well, because we did a good job ahead of the race with the whole team. Since we don’t know if it will rain tomorrow or not, today it was important to do as many laps as possible -which is what we did. Although I am sure that we have room for improvement, I am very happy with today and about being in the Top 5; this is very good and positive for us.”

64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“This morning the first session started quite well. We were in the Top 10 from the first few laps, but at the end we struggled a little and the other riders improved their times. We worked hard ahead of FP2 and we started really well. After stopping in the pits, we went back out with new tyres; it didn’t go badly, but we were overtaken by several other riders on the timesheets. We are close to the Top 10, but we have to improve the feeling with the front end. Now it’s time to work for tomorrow.”

Source: ajo.fi, motogp.com

Related posts