"Anything possible" for Schrötter & Alcoba from row three and nine on the grid at the Barcelona GP
LIQUI MOLY Intact GP rider Marcel Schrötter has long spoken of urgent improvements in qualifying, but at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya he has now backed up his words with his best grid position so far this year in P9 on row three. Team-mate Jeremy Alcoba starts his home Grand Prix in Barcelona from row nine.
As if the tropical temperatures weren't enough of a challenge for man and machine, the oncoming wind made the time attacks in Moto2 qualifying even more difficult.
After the softer front tyre gave him a very good feeling in the third free practice and even provided the highest measured top speed value of the weekend so far, Marcel Schrötter decided to use this tyre compound for Q2 as well. But after only two laps, the German felt that the changed conditions were having a counterproductive effect on his tyre choice. With not much time to lose, the 29-year-old picked up a set of hard Dunlop tyres and gave it his all once again in the fight for the fastest time. With a 1'44.477, the former Barcelona resident Schrötter was 0.654s behind pace and pole setter Celestino Vietti.
The ninth Grand Prix of the season is of special importance for rookie Jeremy Alcoba because the Spaniard wants to prove in front of the thousands of fans around the 4.7km track that he did not lead the "Rookie of the year" ranking for the first third of the season for no reason. But the Barcelona circuit is not really making it easy for him this weekend. The wind and the high temperatures intensify the already existing difficulties that the 20-year-old has been feeling on his Kalex bike for some time now. Starting position 26 on row nine makes the youngster disappointed, but he knows that anything is possible in the race, especially since his strength is not yet in the 1-lap pace, but in the race pace.
The German-Spanish rider duo of the LIQUI MOLY Intact GP team will be keen to show just how much fighting spirit they have in the 22-lap race on Sunday at 12:20 (CEST).
FP3 (combined)
1. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'44.154
2. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'44.155 (+0.001)
3. Pedro ACOSTA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'44.157 (+0.003)
4. Bo BENDSNEYDER/ NED/ KALEX – 1'44.174 (+0.020)
5. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'44.208 (+0.054)
11. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'44.375 (+0.221)
25. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'45.495 (+1.341)
Q1
1. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCURO – 1'44.446
2. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'44.490 (+0.044)
3. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'44.549 (+0.103)
4. Jorge NAVARRO/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'44.770 (+0.324)
5. Somkiat CHANTRA/ THA/ AKLEX – 1'44.911 (+0.465)
12. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'45.812 (+1.366)
Q2
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'43.823
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'43.831 (+0.008)
3. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX – 1'44.002 (+0.179)
4. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'44.045 (+0.222)
5. Albert ARENAS/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'44.049 (+0.226)
9. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'44.745 (+0.654)
