Top 10 start for Schrötter at Assen GP
When the lights go out for the eleventh round of the season on Sunday at the TT Circuit in Assen, LIQUI MOLY Intact GP riders Marcel Schrötter and Jeremy Alcoba will be pursuing a common goal from their starting positions 10 and 23: to make up as many places as possible and scoring, scoring, scoring.
Even though Marcel Schrötter was not one hundred percent satisfied after the challenging Qualifying 2, into which he promoted himself with a strong ninth place in the third Free Practice, his tenth starting position still offers him a solid starting ground for the 24-lap race to keep up with his opponents. Especially as only 0.292s separated him from polesetter Jake Dixon as the sunny Q2 session came to an end on Saturday afternoon. Had it not been for two tricky slides on his fastest lap, one can imagine what would have been possible for the 29-year-old. But Marcel Schrötter is already looking ahead to tomorrow's race, where he hopes to put on a similarly strong show in sunny conditions as he did a week ago at the Sachsenring.
Jeremy Alcoba will start the half-time race from row eight in 23rd position and hopes to score some more World Championship points before the summer break, having been denied them in the last few races. But the ambitious Spaniard, who has long led the 'rookie of the year' standings, is keen to get his name back in the game. Can he build up a similar good feeling for the race Sunday as on the opening day of the Assen Grand Prix and play out his strong race pace? In any case, the 20-year-old is not far away from the points and the 4.5 km TT Circuit offers numerous overtaking opportunities, quite different from the Sachsenring a week ago and even there the youngster managed to fight his way towards the front field.
Race start for the last promising and closely contested Moto2 battle before the five-week summer break is on Sunday at 12:20 (CEST).
Results
FP3
1. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'37.115
2. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'37.180 (+0.065)
3. Bo BENDSNEYDER/ NED/ KALEX – 1'37.226 (+0.111)
4. Ai Ogura/ JAP/ KALEX – 1'37.247 (+0.132)
5. Tony ARBOLINO/ UTA/ KALEX – 1'37.256 (+0.141)
9. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'37.472 (+0.357)
21. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'38.270 (+1.155)
Q1
1. Jorge NAVARRO/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'36.912
2. Alessandro ZACCONE/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'37.266 (+0.354)
3. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'37.275 (+0.363)
4. Barry BALTUS/ BEL/ KALEX – 1'37.288 (+0.376)
5. Lorenzo DALLA PORTA/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'37.342 (+0.430)
9. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'37.761 (+0.849)
Q2
1. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'36.736
2. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'36.747 (+0.011)
3. Sam LOWES/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'36.767 (+0.031)
4. Ai Ogura/ JAP/ KALEX – 1'36.787 (+0.051)
5. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'36.842 (+0.106)
10. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'37.028 (+0.292)
