Garzo & Tulovic attack from rows 2 and 4 in Barcelona
Even though the qualifying for the Grand Prix of Barcelona did not fulfil the expectations of the ambitious Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE duo, local hero Hector Garzo and Lukas Tulovic will start the fifth and sixth races of the season with strong paces from grid positions six and ten.
The 4.66 km long Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya just outside the Spanish metropolis of Barcelona is setting the stage for the third round of the 2024 FIM MotoE World Championship this weekend and already had plenty of excitement in store with four sessions on Friday.
Local hero Hector Garzo put the disappointment from the French Grand Prix behind him and focussed fully on his home Grand Prix from the start of the 15°C chilly Friday morning, making a successful debut with third place in P1. In much warmer temperatures, the gaps in P2 became even closer, which meant that the Spaniard finished eighth, just 0.195s behind the leader. This was still enough for a direct start in Q2, where the 25-year-old eventually qualified in sixth place on row two for the two sprint races on Saturday.
After a lot of hard work, the first day in Barcelona ended extremely frustratingly for the German Lukas Tulovic. The likeable rider from Baden-Württemberg worked his way from Q1 to Q2 after the 23-year-old slipped to 13th position in the second practice session despite a personal improvement. In Qualifying 1, 'Tulo' was late out on track, but a targeted attack was enough to briefly take the lead with four red sectors. Zannoni then slipped past without further ado, but this was not to jeopardise his progress to Q2. Highly motivated to get a good grid position in Q2 for the 7-lap races on Saturday at 12:15 (CEST) and 16:10, Tulovic unfortunately did not get far. A technical defect prevented the 2022 European Moto2 Champion from setting a single time in the short 15-minute session. He will now have to quickly put this frustration behind him and start the hunt for points with all his might from tenth on the fourth row on the grid .
Results
P1
1. Eric GRANADO/ BRA – 1'49.130
2. Nicholas SPINELLI/ ITA – 1'49.171 (+0.041)
3. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'49.349 (+0.219)
5. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'49.480 (+0.350)
P2
1. Nicholas SPINELLI/ ITA – 1'48.190
2. Eric GRANADO/ BRA – 1'48.301 (+0.111)
3. Mattia CASADEI/ ITA – 1'48.319 (+0.129)
8. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'48.385 (+0.195)
13. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'48.876 (+0.686)
Q1
1. Kevin ZANNONI/ ITA – 1'48.365
2. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'48.569 (+0.204)
3. Kevin MANFREDI/ ITA – 1'48.761 (+0.396)
Q2
1. Eric GRANADO/ BRA – 1'48.215
2. Mattia CASADEI/ ITA – 1'48.247 (+0.032)
3. Alessandro ZACCONE/ ITA – 1'48.247 (+0.032)
6. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'48.644 (+0.429)
NC Lukas TULOVIC/ GER
