Almansa secures second-row start at Silverstone; David Gonzalez shows encouraging progress

LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP’s Moto3 squad has started the second half of the season just as it had hoped. David Almansa is back in action and will start Sunday’s 12th race of the season from fourth on the grid. Stand-in rider David Gonzalez has lived up to expectations so far.

It was an almost perfect comeback for David Almansa, who had to sit out due to illness last time at the Sachsenring just under a month ago. The 20-year-old Spaniard has recovered well over the past three weeks and left no doubt about his level of performance as early as Friday morning when he finished Free Practice One with a commanding fastest lap time. 

Practice Session a few hours later posed no major challenge for Almansa, and he qualified directly for Q2 in sixth place. On Saturday morning, he was in third place, just a fraction of a second behind the fastest riders. Everything was set for the battle for pole position, which Almansa held until just before the end of Q2. However, three other riders posted slightly faster times on their final lap. Starting from fourth place, he still has high hopes of making his mark on the race. 

Replacing still injured David Muñoz, his compatriot David Gonzalez will make his World Championship debut at Silverstone. The 18-year-old talent faced no easy task, as the Silverstone Circuit, with a length of just under six kilometers, is one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar. Gonzalez nevertheless performed well, improving practically second by second in every practice session and sitting in fourth place at a point during Q1, which would have been enough to advance to Q2, before dropping back to sixth. Still, his improvement during that session was undoubtedly remarkable.

Attention: Due to the one-hour time difference to Central Europe, a revised schedule will be in effect on race day at Silverstone. The Moto3 race will therefore not start until 3:30 p.m. CEST.

Moto3™ Qualifying Results:
1 Scott ODGEN / GBR / CIP Green Power / KTM / 2´09.126
2 Adrian CRUCES / SPA / CIP Green Power / KTM / 2´09.400 +0.274
3 Valentin PERRONE / ARG / Red Bull KTM Tech3 / KTM / 2´09.458 +0.332
4 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 2´09.461 +0.335
…
20 #71 David GONZALEZ / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 2´11.418 (Q1)