Red Bull KTM Ajo rider will make front row start tomorrow, despite not completing qualifying due to mechanical problems. Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis will take off from twelfth and fiftteenth, respectively.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider this afternoon achieved a creditable second position on the starting grid for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix. With 5 minutes remaining and on his first lap on new tyres, mechanical problems prevented him from finishing the session. After feeling very comfortable in the morning, Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis concluded the day with twelfth and fifteenth place.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo team had taken excellent results in the last free practice session of the weekend. The good feeling from yesterday continued, with Luis Salom setting a new lap record of 1:27.013 at the head of the timesheets and Arthur Sissis fourth with a best lap of 1:27.614. Like his teammates, Zulfahmi Khairuddin also lowered his times from yesterday and concluded eleventh fastest, setting a lap of 1:28.223.

In the main course of the day, Red Bull KTM Ajo riders kept up their good form.  Luis Salom was quickly amongst the frontrunners, but had to save a crash when out on new tyres and suffering mechanical problems. The Spaniard was thus second fastest, setting a best time of 1:27.840. Zulfahmi Khairuddin, twelfth (1:28.047), came up to traffic late on, whilst Arthur Sissis, took fifteenth position (1:28.089).

The eighth Moto3 race of the season will be held tomorrow from 11am local time and Luis Salom will look to score his fourth consecutive victory –a feat that no rider has achieved in the Moto3 class thus far.

Results (Qualifying practice)
1. Alex Rins (KTM) 1:27.300
2. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:27.480 +0.180
3. Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra) 1:27.559 +0.259
4. Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM) 1:27.579 +0.279
5. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 1:27.599 +0.299
12. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:28.047  +0.747
15. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:28.089  +0.789

Luis Salom >> Audio
“I was lucky to make a save on the corner where we had the incident. It’s a shame, because it was the first lap on new tyres, we knew we could push hard and did not have time to use them to the fullest. I’m happy with the time anyway, although we could probably have lowered it. The most important thing is that this morning we did a lap in 1:27.0, I had a very good pace, just like yesterday, so we can be happy about tomorrow. The work has been very good so far. I guess the race will be like the last one, with a large group at the front and very difficult.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“It was a very positive morning. I was feeling good and riding with a very steady pace in the morning session. In qualifying we made a few small adjustments to the setup, but I noticed them more than I expected. That’s why, when we put the new tyres on, I was unable to push to the maximum. Tomorrow we will use the settings we had in the third free practice, because I have a better feeling with that and I can run a higher pace. I’ll see if I can finish in the top five, but we’ll see, because my pace today was pretty good. I have confidence about this race.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin >> Audio (English) // Audio (Malaysian)
“The qualifying session went well, I had a good feeling from the beginning to the end. In the last part of the session we put a new tyre on the rear and I managed to find more grip, but I ran into a group of riders on the track and couldn’t get a clean lap in. In any case, it was a good day and I did a 1.28, although I think a 1.27 was possible without traffic. Tomorrow I hope to be in the leading group, I have to focus on the race and I have a lot of confidence in both the team and myself.”

*Audio solely for radio