16/08/2024

Garzo & Tulovic line up in P2 and P4 for the Austrian GP

With a minimal gap of just 0.066s and 0.167s to the pole position, Hector Garzo and Lukas Tulovic of the Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE team will start Saturday's two races at the penultimate showdown of the 2024 season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria in second and fourth place.

The MotoE season is slowly drawing to a close, but anyone who thinks that this exciting season has run out of steam could not be more wrong.
On the first day of MotoE practice and qualifying at the 4.35-kilometre Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, the gaps between the top riders were so small that just 0.066s difference decided the pole position. Spanish title contender Hector Garzo made a good debut in Austria. From fifth place in the first practice session, the 26-year-old improved to third place in the second timed session, which earned him a place in Q2, where he then snatched second place on the grid just behind pole setter Oscar Gutierrez. Can the current championship leader Garzo step up the game on Saturday? If he manages to extend his lead to 51 points, the Spaniard could crown himself world champion tomorrow.

However, when the lights go out for the 7-lap sprints at 12:15 and 16:10, Hector Garzo will not be the only one fighting for the favour of the hour, as team-mate Lukas Tulovic also has ambitious goals, after 'Tulo' has achieved an optimal starting position for the two penultimate races of the season with fourth place on the grid. His gap to the qualifying leader was only a minimal 0.167s, which once again underlined the high competitiveness of the all-electric racing series. The 24-year-old German made his way into Q2 with a tenth place in first practice and an eighth place in P2, but he then beat his 1'38.749 from Friday's second session by an impressive 0.612s in the afternoon qualifying, fulfilling his goal of securing at least the second row of the grid and making him a definite podium contender on Saturday.

Results

P1
1. Jordi TORRES/ SPA – 1'38.959
2. Eric GRANADO/ BRA – 1'39.023 (+0.064)
3. Oscar GUTIERREZ/ SPA – 1'39.042 (+0.083)
5. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'39.342 (+0.383)
10.Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'39.559 (+0.600)

P2
1. Kevin ZANNONI/ ITA – 1'38.180
2. Mattia CASADEI/ ITA – 1'38.301 (+0.121)
3. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'38.401 (+0.221)
8. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'38.749 (+0.569)

Q2
1. Oscar GUTIERREZ/ SPA – 1'37.970
2. Hector GARZO/ SPA – 1'38.036 (+0.066)
3. Kevin ZANNONI/ ITA – 1'38.063 (+0.093)
4. Lukas TULOVIC/ GER – 1'38.137 (+0.167)

Hector Garzo

P2 - 1'38.036 (+0.066)

“To be honest, my goal for today was to get a front-row start as I've been feeling good since this morning. This is the perfect way to start the race because you can gain a lot of time at the beginning. In qualifying I tried to avoid battles with other riders, and I think all three riders on the front row were quite fast. We have all the conditions to have a good race because I feel good and also strong. Let's see what we can do tomorrow and what will happen because the weather doesn't look so stable. But if it changes, it will be the same for everyone. Nonetheless, I'm happy to be back with the team and doing well with the bike. So that's the best you can expect. Apart from that, I will try to ride a good race, do my best and fight for the win as always.”

Lukas Tulovic

P4 - 1'38.137 (+0.167)

"Actually, the Red Bull Ring is not a track that really suits me. Mainly because of its stop-and-go nature, even though it gets fast and flowing from the second sector onwards. Nevertheless, the last few times I've been here, it's been the best track of the season in terms of results. Last year, I finished tenth in Moto2 and won a MotoE race in 2021. As I've always been quite fast here recently, I was expecting to finish off the Friday with a grid position on one of the first two rows. After a difficult start this morning, I wasn't so sure about that anymore. Eighth place in the combined timesheets of the practice sessions was enough to get me straight into Q2, but I wasn't sure if I could set a strong time on my own. It worked well in Zannoni's slipstream though. Unfortunately, a third very fast lap was ruined because I made a mistake in turn three. I almost crashed via highsider. Until then, however, I was on course for pole position, if I may put it that way. Thanks to my good starting position, I have high hopes for tomorrow's races. My goal is to finish on the podium twice.”

Pictures MotoE – Friday Austrian GP 2024

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