Comfortable riding in the wet at Motegi on Friday, Niccolo Antonelli continued to impress in difficult conditions on Saturday, taking an excellent second place in qualifying for the Japanese GP. The Italian bounced back from a heavy crash in FP3 to take his best result on the starting grid this season, to make a first appearance on the front row in 2017. Teammate Bo Bendsneyder was again competitive in the grid-deciding session, claiming a position in the middle of the fourth row with eleventh. Antonelli showed that he is at ease in wet conditions when onboard his KTM, going among the fastest riders in FP3. However, just after moving into the top spot, 14 minutes in, the Italian suffered a crash at Turn 4 that left him unable to finish the session. He was 13th, with a best time of 2:08.634. Bendsneyder was not able to find the good feeling he had in FP1 yesterday and had to settle for 25th place -2:12.395. Although it seemed that less water on track would make things tougher for the Red Bull KTM Ajo pair, in qualifying they were able to adapt. With ten minutes to go, Niccolo Antonelli broke into the Top 3 and started to steadily improve his times. It was not until his last lap that the Italian secured second position on the grid, with a 2:09.592. Also on his final roll of the dice, Bendsneyder set his best time of the weekend so far -2:10.383- to place eleventh.
Results (Qualifying Session)
1. Nicolo Bulega (KTM) 2:09.320
2. Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:09.592 +0.272
3. Aron Canet (Honda) 2:09.708 +0.388
4. Marco Bezzechi (Mahindra) 2:09.797 +0.477
5. Enea Bastianini (Honda) 2:09.846 +0.526
11. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:10.383 +1.063
64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“The qualifying session was not bad at all and we were able to take a key step forward to get this spot on the fourth row. After the last two Free Practice sessions, which weren’t easy, I’m happy about how qualifying went. The feeling I have is good and I have always been riding alone. I can’t wait to start the race. I’m eager to see what conditions we will encounter, since so far we have only ridden in the wet here.”
Source: ajo.fi
