There was reason for optimism in the pit box of NTS RW Racing GP on the second day of the GP of Andalusia. In the free practice session on Saturday morning, Bo Bendsneyder was a second faster than in the previous sessions at the Jerez circuit. It just wasn’t enough for a place in Q2. Bendsneyder will start the race from 24th on Sunday afternoon. Jesko Raffin will leave from 30th, just like last weekend. That the tireless hard work of NTS RW Racing GP is paying off, was evident from the 1.42.241 that Bendsneyder put down in FP3: a second faster than a day earlier. But times in Moto2 are so ridiculously close that this progress was not enough. In the qualifying in the considerably hotter afternoon – air temperature 37 degrees Celsius, track temperature 57 degrees – it did not work out. Bendsneyder finished Q1 with 1.42.505: the tenth time. Jesko Raffin’s 1.43.688 meant sixteenth position in Q1.
Bo Bendsneyder: “This morning the feeling was much better and I was able to ride a considerably better pace, so that was hopeful. But this afternoon it was a lot warmer and I had a lot of problems with the front again. The time was not that bad, but still too far away from where we should be. We are going full throttle tomorrow.”
Results Q1 & Q2 combined:
Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
1 | Marco BEZZECCHI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’41.728 |
2 | Sam LOWES | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’41.765 |
3 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’41.845 |
4 | Jorge NAVARRO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 1’41.860 |
5 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’41.882 |
6 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’41.957 |
7 | Aron CANET | Openbank Aspar Team Moto2 | 1’42.002 |
8 | Nicolo BULEGA | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’42.087 |
9 | Thomas LUTHI | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’42.107 |
10 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’42.175 |
11 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 1’42.181 |
12 | Xavi VIERGE | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’42.213 |
13 | Edgar PONS | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’42.224 |
14 | Remy GARDNER | Onexox TKKR SAG Team | 1’42.360 |
15 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’42.383 |
16 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’42.599 |
17 | Simone CORSI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’42.811 |
18 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Tennor American Racing | 1’42.905 |
19 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’42.217 |
20 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’42.285 |
21 | Jake DIXON | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’42.310 |
22 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Openbank Aspar Team Moto2 | 1’42.325 |
23 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’42.333 |
24 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’42.505 |
25 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’42.576 |
26 | Joe ROBERTS | Tennor American Racing | 1’42.715 |
27 | Hector GARZO | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’42.727 |
28 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’43.060 |
29 | Kasma DANIEL | Onexox TKKR SAG Team | 1’43.422 |
30 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’43.688 |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com