Pini seventh after strong Assen qualifying, Muñoz starts from P14
In the dramatic finale of the tenth qualifying session of the season, the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Team experienced a rollercoaster of emotions: Guido Pini, who suffered a crash while lying in fifth place, finished Q2 in seventh place on row 3. David Muñoz, who was in eighth place until shortly before the end, was pushed back to 14th place on the grid in row five in the final seconds.
Guido Pini, an up-and-coming talent in the Moto3 World Championship at the age of 17, made a convincing start to the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday morning in wet conditions with a seventh place in FP1. In practice, Pini secured 13th place, just 0.651 seconds behind the leader, and thus a direct entry into Q2. In the qualifying session, the rookie was among the top ranks right from the start. However, in an attempt to improve on fifth place, the rider with the number 94 crashed, fortunately remained uninjured and is confident going into Sunday's 20-lap race with strong pace.
Intact GP team-mate David Muñoz also impressed from Friday onwards on the Dutch track. He placed second in qualifying with a strong lap of 1:40.262, showing serious potential. The 19-year-old Spaniard remained solid in Q2 on Saturday, but was not quite able to match his performance from the previous day. His lap times placed him in the midfield, so that he was in eighth place shortly before the end of the session, until the final time attacks of the competition dropped him back to 14th place on the grid. Nevertheless, Muñoz remains optimistic and is convinced that he will be able to call on his strong pace in the race on Sunday at 11:00 am.
Results
FP1
1. Alvaro CARPE/ SPA/ KTM – 1'46.078
2. Maximo QUILES/ SPA/ KTM – 1'46.189 (+0.111)
3. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ KTM – 1'46.457 (+0.379)
6. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'46.807 (+0.729)
7. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'46.983 (+0.905)
PR
1. Luca LUNETTA/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'40.053
2. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.262 (+0.209)
3. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'40.445 (+0.392)
13.Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'40.704 (+0.651)
FP2
1. David ALMANSA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.259
2. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.485 (+0.226)
3. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.485 (+0.226)
13. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'41.016 (+0.757)
15. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'41.150 (0.891)
Q2
1. Jose Antonio RUEDAZ SPA/ KTM – 1'39.757
2. Alvaro CARPE/ SPA/ KTM – 1'39.798 (+0.041)
3. David ALMANSA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'39.823 (+0.066)
7. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'40.221 (+0.464)
14. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.491 (+0.734)