Veijer again strong second in qualifying and back in front row in Australia
The LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team around Collin Veijer and Tatsuki Suzuki were not going to have an easy time on the legendary 4.45 kilometre Phillip Island Circuit, but the Dutchman in particular managed to defy the changeable conditions with grid position 2 on row 1. His Japanese team-mate will fight for his next world championship points in Sunday's 21-lap race from P17 on the sixth row.
The changeable and sometimes unpredictable weather on Phillip Island once again lived up to its reputation, as strong winds and persistent rain made the start of the seventeenth race weekend of the season difficult on Friday.
But even the sometimes challenging conditions did not stop Moto3 rider Collin Veijer from getting off to a flying start. Together with his crew, the young Dutchman prepared his Husqvarna for further rain sessions and finished both free practice and P1 in the top 10. On Saturday morning, the 19-year-old laid a strong foundation for Qualifying 2, which followed in the early afternoon, with third place in P2. In Q2, however, dry conditions prevailed for the first time this weekend, but Veijer was also able to adapt immediately and, despite a small slip-up, ultimately took second place on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday at 02:00 (CEST), just 0.124s behind pole setter Ivan Ortola.
Due to the sudden change of weather to dry in Q2, Tatsuki Suzuki had to adapt his tactics again after three wet sessions. The Japanese rider did not have much time left in the 15-minute Qualifying 2, after his full focus on Friday was primarily on improving the feeling for his bike in the wet, which delivered the hoped-for success with sixth place on Saturday morning. With his 1'45.818 from P2, the 26-year-old underpinned his place in Q2, in which he then again had a lot of work ahead of him and even if seventeenth on the grid for the race start is no gift, ‘Tatsu’ now knows which set-up and which tyre choice to rely on for the possibly dry race. Suzuki wants to start the race with ambition in order to quickly make his way into the points.
Results
FP (wet)
1. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'44.888
2. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'44.906 (+0.018)
3. Matteo BERTELLE/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'45.456 (+0.568)
5. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'45.742 (+0.854)
12. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'46.483 (+1.595)
P1 (wet)
1. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'44.949
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'45.991 (+1.042)
3. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'47.062 (+2.113)
7. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'47.692 (+2.743)
13. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'48.190 (+3.241)
P2 (wet)
1. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'44.682
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'45.012 (+0.330)
3. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'45.089 (+0.407)
6. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'45.818 (+1.136)
Q2 (dry)
1. Ivan ORTOLA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'35.872
2. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'35.996 (+0.124)
3. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'36.023 (+0.151)
17. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'37.451 (+1.579)
