Luis Salom takes hard-fought second row position

24/08/2013

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider claims fifth on grid at Brno. Arthur Sissis starts from row three, whilst Zulfahmi Khairuddin will take off from eighth row.

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The challenge was difficult, but Luis Salom will start from high up the grid tomorrow at the Czech Republic Grand Prix, in fifth place. The Spaniard overcame a left foot injury to set a 2:08:639 lap, putting him on the second row.  Arthur Sissis also achieved his goal and earned a spot on the third row with eighth, whilst Zulfahmi Khairuddin starts from twenty-fourth at Brno.

The day started cloudy, with only track temperature at only 22°C. However, Luis Salom decided to push hard on his KTM. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider rode alone for a perfect final lap, in which he set a 2:08:239 time better than anything else offered up this weekend. Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin also lowered their times from yesterday. The former, eleventh, took more than a second from his previous best for a 2:09:573, and the Malaysian rider knocked six tenths off his for a 2:10:368 —twentieth—.

Salom could not find the same feeling in qualifying, but was nevertheless always amongst the top riders.  With six minutes left on the clock, he put in three flying laps –the second of which was his best of the session. Teammate Arthur Sissis had just fitted new tyres to his bike when, on the third corner of the track, he crashed and missed out on the remainder of the session. Meanwhile, Zulfahmi Khairuddin bested his morning time for a 2:09:924 lap to take twenty-fourth.

Tomorrow’s Moto3 race is last up, taking place at 14:30 local time. Luis Salom defends the lead of the overall standings, at a track where he finished second last season.

Results (Qualifying practice)
1. Alex Rins (KTM) 2:07.622
2. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 2:08.189   +0.567
3. Alexis Masbou (FTR Honda) 2:08.459   +0.837
4. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 2:08.483   +0.861
5. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:08.639   +1.017
6. Alex Marquez (KTM) 0,0 2:08.649   +1.027
7. Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM) 2:08.716   +1.094
8. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:08.843   +1.221
24. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2:09.924  +2.302

 

Luis Salom >> Audio
“Today my foot hurt more. After four sessions it is more swollen. However, I think we did a good job. In fact, the injury was not what kept us from going faster;  that was a small problem with the front of the bike, which slowed us down slightly. We have identified the issue and will solve it tomorrow. In the race I will try to give as much as possible and do the best I can.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“The qualifying session went pretty well. I went out on new tyres and I rode pretty fast. In qualifying we made some changes to the bike, but we did not improve with them, so we’re back to the setup that we used initially. I took my best time despite the traffic and the next lap I crashed. It was quite a heavy fall and I think it’s the worst I’ve had so far this season. Tomorrow I’ll likely be a bit achy, especially in my neck.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin >> Audio (English) // Audio (Bahasa)
“It was not our best qualifying session, so tomorrow we need to be focused for the race. Obviously I will try to make a good start and overtake some riders on the first five laps. I hope to do well and hope I’m not too far from the leading group. This circuit is one of my favorites and if I look at my results from previous years they were quite good, both in qualifying and the race. This year I might not have felt so comfortable, but if we focus and try to do well, tomorrow we can get a good result.”

 

*Audio solely for radio use

 

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