17/08/2024

Veijer takes P3 on the front row in Spielberg; Suzuki P13 & Rosenthaler P25

LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 riders Collin Veijer and Tatsuki Suzuki finished the hard-fought Moto3 qualifying session at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in a strong third place on row 1 and thirteenth on row 5, while JuniorGP guest starter Jakob Rosenthaler finished 25th on row 9 in his world championship debut.

The 4.35-kilometre-long Red Bull Ring was a busy place towards midday of the qualifying Saturday, with Dutchman Collin Veijer being one of the main protagonists. The 19-year-old had already laid a good foundation on Friday with a third place in first practice, which he confirmed with two third places in P2 and the following qualifying session. It is possible that the title contender could have done even better, but unfortunately, a fast lap was cancelled due to exceeding the track limits. Nevertheless, the youngster is delighted with his front-row start for the eleventh Grand Prix of the year, in which he will try to close the gap to the top three in the world championship.

Tatsuki Suzuki took the long route to Qualifying 2 this Saturday, having to start in Q1 after a small slide and 16th place in P2. Although this meant an additional session for the Japanese rider, he overcame this hurdle with flying colours. Once he arrived in Qualifying 2, the 26-year-old pushed his Husqvarna to the limit and even beyond it once, which meant that at the end of the 15-minute session, it was not quite enough for the top 10. His 1'40.927 was 0.870s behind the time of pole setter Ivan Ortola, but that doesn't mean anything after all as Suzuki has often outperformed its previous performances in the past races, so he will do everything he can to get off to a good start in the 20-lap race, which starts on Sunday at 11:00 (CEST).

The Intact GP rider from the JuniorGP, Jakob Rosenthaler, is also looking forward to the Austrian Grand Prix with great anticipation, which is not only something very special for the Austrian because it is his home race, but also because this Grand Prix marks the world championship debut of the 18-year-old. The youngster from Linz did well in the first practice sessions. Rosenthaler started in Q1 after having finished in 22nd place in the combined practice sessions, from which he said he had hoped for more. For his opening race, the ambitious young rider is rolling in for 25th place on the grid on row nine, although the Intact GP rider's main aim is to gain valuable experience and have fun.

Results

FP
1. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.331
2. Daniel HOLGADO/ SPA/ GASGAS – 1'40.573 (+0.242)
3. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'40.793 (+0.462)
6. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.846 (+0.515)
10. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.065 (+0.734)
15. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.703 (+1.372)

P1
1. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.171
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.222 (+0.051)
3. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.240 (+0.069)
12. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.824 (+0.653)
25. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.988 (+1.817)

P2
1. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'39.921
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.008 (+0.087)
3. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.257 (+0.336)
16. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.886 (+0.965)
22. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.336 (+1.415)

Q1
1. Taiyo FURUSATO/ JPN/ HONDA – 1'40.882
2. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.211 (+0.329)
3. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.237 (+0.355)
11. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.513 (+1.631)

Q2
1. Ivan ORTOLA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.057
2. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'40.200 (+0.143)
3. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.216 (+0.159)
13. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.927 (+0.870)

Collin Veijer

P3 - 1'40.216 (+0.159)

"I think this weekend is another good one so far as we are on the front row, which is not bad. I was quite confident the whole time because I was able to set a decent lap time on every lap. We stayed out with the same tyre because I felt like I shouldn't go in and lose a lot of time. I also found a good rhythm, even though we had a problem with the track limits several times. So, I went to the limit every lap and tried everything to get faster. When another lap was cancelled because of the track limits, I had to do the lap again and luckily, I was even faster. So, it's not bad, especially as we can be pretty confident because of the pace we can ride on our own. I think with slipstreaming you can easily gain four or five tenths on this track. I don't expect a very big group for the race because nobody else can ride at a really fast pace. We just have to survive the first few laps with the tyres, after that I think we can pull out a lead. Nevertheless, I think the race will be very nice, especially for the spectators!”

Tatsuki Suzuki

P13 - 1'40.927 (+0.870)

"I'm happy with a good Q1 because this morning we missed out on the direct entry into Q2 due to a crash. But I still managed to go through Q2, where I made a stupid mistake on my last hot lap when I crashed for the second time today. It was just a small fall, everything is fine and there are no consequences. So, I feel well prepared for race day here in Austria.”

Jakob Rosenthaler

P11 (Q1) - 1'42.513 (+1.631)

“Unfortunately, my first qualifying session in a Grand Prix didn't go as we had hoped. In the beginning, I went out together with Tatsu, but I was a bit too late and therefore a bit too far behind him in order to benefit from him. So, I did the first run on my own, with the first lap being cancelled due to a yellow flag and the next probably due to exceeding the track limits. That was a shame because that would have been my fastest time. In the second run, we put all our eggs in one basket and waited for a group to improve this morning. But in the group, I was in, everyone was cruising. I, on the other hand, had to make sure that I finished my out-lap before the time was up, which was a small mistake on my part so that I could still complete a flying lap. I was at the absolute limit on this lap, also in terms of the track limits. Unfortunately, it wasn't what would have been possible.”

Pictures Moto3 – Saturday Austrian GP

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