Veijer & Suzuki start Misano II points battle from rows 2 and 6
The second race weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli has so far provided challenging sessions due to changeable conditions, which Collin Veijer and Tatsuki Suzuki of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team have faced. The Husqvarna duo finished qualifying in sixth place on row two and 17th on row six.
On Friday, the 4.23 km Misano World Circuit had a wet track after several days of rain on Italy's Adriatic coast. As a result, track conditions were not the best, especially in free practice.
To avoid taking any unnecessary risks, Collin Veijer took it a little easier. However, the Dutchman finished fourth in the first qualifying session, which gave him confidence for the rest of the weekend. On qualifying Saturday, the 19-year-old improved his 1'41.253 by 0.126s, which resulted in eleventh place. From there, it was on to the fiercely contested Q2, which the current fourth-placed rider in the world championship finished in sixth place, 0.220s behind pole setter Taiyo Furusato. From the second row of the grid, the ambitious Veijer will be aiming for at least his next podium result in Sunday's 20-lap race, which starts at 10:00 (CEST).
Tatsuki Suzuki piloted his Husqvarna to fifth place on Friday afternoon, which gave the Japanese rider a positive feeling for Saturday. With a 1'40.967, the 26-year-old, who has found his adopted home in San Marino, made a good start and secured a place in the second qualifying session thanks to seventh place in P2. In this, 'Tatsu' fought fiercely for every tenth of a second, but unfortunately his personal best time was canceled due to a yellow flag, which was extremely unfortunate as he showed good pace. He wants to repeat this in tomorrow's race and hopes to make up a lot of positions at the start from the sixth row.
Results
FP
1. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'52.819
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'53.077 (+0.258)
3. Stefano NEPA/ ITA/ KTM – 1'53.161 (+0.342)
14. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'55.219 (+2.400)
Not classified
Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA
P1
1. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.071
2. Daniel HOLGADO/ SPA/ GASGAS – 1'41.181 (+0.110)
3. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.203 (+0.132)
4. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.253 (+0.182)
5. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.257 (+0.186)
P2
1. David MUÑOZ/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.643
2. David ALONSO/ COL / CFMOTO – 1'40.667 (+0.024)
3. Filippo FARIOLI/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'40.730 (+0.087)
7. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.967 (+0.324)
11. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.127 (+0.484)
Q2
1. Taiyo FURUSATO/ JPN/ HONDA – 1'40.394
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.453 (+0.059)
3. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.460 (+0.066)
6. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.614 (+0.220)
17. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.894 (+1.500)
