Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Australian rider takes sixth best time in qualifying session. Zulfahmi Khairuddin will set off from the third row and Luis Salom will do so from the fourth after suffering a severe crash.

The historic circuit of Indianapolis was the venue to decide the grid for the ninth round of the season. Arthur Sissis –sixth– achieved his best World Championship spot to date and will start just one row in front of his teammate, ambulance Zulfahmi Khairuddin –ninth–. Luis Salom will do so from the fourth line –in tenth position–, after suffering a severe crash during the qualifying session which made him miss twelve minutes of the session.

The day started with a good last free practice session for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Arthur Sissis made a strong start, placing themselves up amongst the first five within the opening ten minutes of the session. Luis Salom continued to go after the best setup for his KTM until, after passing the halfway point of the session he began to set his best times yet. In the end, the Spanish rider achieved the second best time, followed by his teammate Zulfahmi Khairuddin –third–. Arthur Sissis was twelfth.

In qualifying, luck changed for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders. Arthur Sissis, with a time of 1:48.095, achieved his first second row of the year and Zulfahmi Khairuddin ended up satisfied once again with a qualifying session –with ninth position. As for Luis Salom, he suffered a severe crash on Turn 1 –with just 17 minutes remaining until the end of the session–, which obliged him to abandon the track on a stretcher. Following a big effort from the rider and excellent work from the whole Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport team, Salom was able to return to the track with five minutes remaining and improve his time –1.48.376–, in doing so ensuring himself tenth position on the grid.

Tomorrow the fight will be on at the Red Bull Grand Prix of Indianapolis from 11.00 am –local time–, a meeting which Luis Salom won last year for his first Grand Prix victory.

Results (Qualifying practice)
1. Alex Rins (KTM) 1:47.392
2. Alex Marquez (KTM) 1:47.686  +0.294
3. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 1:47.869  +0.477
4. Efren Vazquez (Mahindra) 1:47.905  +0.513
5. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 1:47.928  +0.536
6. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.095  +0.703
9. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.224  +0.832
10. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.376  +0.984

Luis Salom >> Audio
“Despite the crash, the day went well. This morning we set the second fastest time and I think the work we did was very good. In the qualifying session, we had the misfortune of suffering a crash. I do not really know what happened it was very strange. However, I was able to go back out and improve my lap time, but I made a couple of mistakes. I think for tomorrow, if the pain in my left foot goes down, I can have a good race.”

Arthur Sissis >> Audio
“This morning things went rather well. We made the most of things to try different setups and in the end we took the same time as yesterday. We put on the new tyre, which went really well for us and I pushed as hard as I could. Sixth on the grid is my best World Championship spot to date. I feel good, but tomorrow a very difficult race awaits us.”

Zulfhami Khairuddin >> Audio (eng) >> Audio (mal)
“The morning session went really well. Both I and my team did a great job and we found a setup that has given me much more confidence. During qualifying we put in a good time, but the final position is not as good as we had hoped. In any case, it is the best grid position of the year for me. Tomorrow I hope to get a good start and run a good pace.”

*Audios only for radio use