Muñoz & Pini: Strong duo despite challenges in Aragon qualifying
The MotorLand Aragon is a special challenge for the two LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP riders David Muñoz and Guido Pini. While the Spaniard Muñoz finished ninth on row three in Qualifying 2, his Italian team-mate Guido Pini qualified on row seven in P21.
David Muñoz, the local hero, made a clear statement on Friday with a strong performance in practice. His personal best time of 1:57.416 not only secured the 18-year-old second place in practice, but also a direct participation in Q2 on Saturday. On the cool morning of the second practice day, Muñoz finished sixth and hoped to be able to improve in Q2. However, an early crash in the first outing thwarted his plans: a highsider at the entrance to the Corkscrew catapulted the rider with the number 64 out of the saddle of his KTM. Despite the spectacular crash, Muñoz remained uninjured and immediately returned to the pits, where his team did everything they could to get him back on the track in time for a final attack. On the final lap, Muñoz managed a time of 1:57.335, which secured him ninth place on the third row of the grid for Sunday's 11:00 race.
Guido Pini made a strong start to the eighth race weekend of the season with second place in the first free practice session. In the decisive practice session for qualifying, the 17-year-old Italian was unable to repeat his best time from the morning (1:58.939) due to a crash, which earned him 19th place and thus Q1 on Saturday. On Saturday morning, Pini improved his Friday best time by a further 0.2 seconds to 1:58.130, despite the aftermath of his friday crash, but this was not enough to make it into Q2. This leaves him in 21st place on the grid on row seven - a real challenge for the Moto3 rookie, who wants to rely on his strong pace on the 5.078-kilometre MotorLand Aragon circuit in the 17-lap race.
Results
FP1
1. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'58.014
2. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'58.939 (+0.925)
3. David ALMANSA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'59.104 (+1.090)
9. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM - 1'59.582 (+1.568)
PR
1. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.338
2. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.416 (+0.078)
3. David ALMANSA/ SPA/ HONDA _ 1'57.639 (+0.301)
19. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'59.156 (+1.818)
FP2
1. David ALMANSA/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'56.922
2. Maximo QUILES/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.049 (+0.127)
3. Luca LUNETTA/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'57.079 (+0.157)
6. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.609 (+0.687)
18. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM –1'58.736 (+1.814)
Q1
1. Maximo QUILES/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.406
2. Ryusei YAMANAKA/ JPN/ KTM – 1'57.771 (+0.365)
3. Taiyo FURUSATO/ JPN/ HONDA – 1'57.808 (+0.402)
7. Guido PINI/ ITA/ KTM – 1'58.130 (+0.724)
Q2
1. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'56.361
2. Luca LUNETTA/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'56.387 (+0.026)
3. Maximo QUILES/ SPA/ KTM – 1'56.505 (+0.144)
9. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'57.335 (+0.974)
