Agius strong fourth - Gonzalez fights bravely through wet Sachsenring qualifying
The Sachsenring Grand Prix not only marks the halfway point of the current season, but is also the home race of the LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP Team. Senna Agius and Manuel Gonzalez showed full commitment in Q2 on the traditional circuit, despite treacherous track conditions. While Agius shone with a strong fourth place, Gonzalez had to settle for 16th place on the wet track.
Senna Agius started the eleventh race of the season on the 3.67-kilometre Sachsenring highly motivated and proved his strong pace right from the start. On Friday afternoon, the fast Australian secured second place in qualifying with a time of 1'22.459, thus securing his place in Q2. On Saturday, however, the conditions changed fundamentally. The second free practice session took place in front of full grandstands despite the wet track. After a cautious approach, the 20-year-old improved significantly. With a 1'33.588, he was briefly on provisional pole. After a spectacular crash at the end of the session, which he fortunately escaped, he slipped off the front row and ended up in fourth place, just 0.101 seconds behind pole setter Jake Dixon.
Manuel Gonzalez, the current leader in the World Championship, made a promising start to the German Grand Prix with third place in the first free practice session and in the afternoon practice. In dry conditions, the Spaniard had a good feeling for his Kalex machine. But on Saturday, the lack of grip on the wet track caused him problems. 10th place in FP2 and 16th on the grid in qualifying left the Spaniard less than satisfied. In the race, Gonzalez is now hoping to get as far forward as possible and defend his Championship lead.
The thousands and thousands of fans along the track can look forward to 25 exciting laps of racing on Sunday when the lights go out at 12:15 (CET) and all eyes will be on the protagonists of the last remaining German racing team.
RESULTS
FP1
1. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'23.072
2. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'23.087 (+0.015)
3. Manuel GNZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'23.139 (+0.067)
13. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'23.427 (+0.355)
Practice
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'22.329
2. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'22.459 (+0.130)
3. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'22.606 (+0.277)
FP2
1. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'31.613
2. Daniel HOLGADO/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'32.570 (+0.957)
3. Deniz ÖNCÜ/ TUR/ KALEX – 1'32.653 (+1.040)
10. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'33.160 (+1.547)
17. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'33.795 (+2.182)
Q2
1. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.487
2. Barry BALTUS/ BEL/ KALEX – 1'33.557 (+0.070)
3. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'33.562 (+0.075)
4. Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX – 1'33.588 (+0.101)
16. Manuel GONZALEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'38.199 (+4.712)
