Bo Bendsneyder continues good form at Sachsenring
30/06/2017Dutch rider places 6th on first day of German Grand Prix, with stand-in teammate Danny Kent 17th.
The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders began practice for the German GP with two dry sessions, despite heavy overnight rain threatening wet conditions on Friday. The day marked the first time the new asphalt at Sachsenring was used, although Bo Bendsneyder got to grips with it immediately to place sixth on the combined timesheet –continuing his good form from the Dutch GP one week ago. Standing in for the injured Niccolo Antonelli at this Grand Prix, Danny Kent finished seventeenth.
Bo Bendsneyder have continued with the same dynamic as at Assen, right from the start of the day. He topped the timesheets on several occasions, although he eventually had to settle for second position with a time of 1:27.979. He was one of just two riders to break the 1:28 barrier. Riding his first laps with the KTM Moto3 bike since the French GP, Kent was 22nd in FP1 –1:29.608.
In FP2, a red flag 13 minutes into the session due to a crash broke up the afternoon runout for the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders and the rest of the grid. Reducing lap times was difficult on asphalt where significant tyre wear is experienced. So good was Bendsneyder’s FP1 time, that the Dutchman could not lower it in the afternoon, placing ninth in the session with a 1:28.293 best. Kent did improve, moving up to sixteenth –1:28.557– on his last stint.
Tomorrow the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders will contest qualifying at 12:35pm local time, at a circuit where Danny Kent holds the Moto3 pole record: 1:26.420.
Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)
1. Joan Mir (Honda) 1:27.179
2. Romano Fenati (Honda) 1:27.855 +0.676
3. Jorge Martin (Honda) 1:27.868 +0.689
4. Phillip Oettl (KTM) 1:27.911 +0.732
5. Livio Loi (KTM) 1:27.933 +0.754
6. Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:27.979 +0.800
17. Danny Kent (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:28.557 +1.378
64 BO BENDSNEYDER
“Today I felt good both in the morning and in the afternoon. We had to run used tyres from FP1 in the afternoon, and only at the end of the FP2 we put on the new ones. FP2 was difficult, although we are in the Top 10 and it has been a positive day. Tomorrow we have to improve the feeling with the rear, because it is not perfect; but I feel confident.
I think tomorrow we can improve it and take a big step forward. The new asphalt has a lot of grip –maybe even too much– and the tyre is almost done after 6 laps. We have to analyse this to be able to choose which tyre we want to use for the race, besides whether it rains or not. We will see how the weekend develops.”52 DANNY KENT
“It was a difficult first day for me, because the last time I got on a bike was at Mugello three weeks ago –and that was in Moto2. It is difficult for me to change bike, because when you have adapted to one bike, you have to change your riding again when changing class. Plus Sachsenring is not an easy track.
It’s been a tough day, so we have to sit down and analyse the data now. There are some setup details we still have to work on, but the biggest problem is myself. This is something we could have expected, and I have to do more laps on the Moto3. I am sure that on Sunday I will go faster. I didn’t notice much difference with the new asphalt, and for me it responds quite similarly to the previous surface.”