Collin Veijer storms to pole at the German GP with a new lap record
For the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team, the Sachsenring Grand Prix is already a highlight of the season. After a successful debut, a new lap record and pole position for Collin Veijer heralds a Sunday blockbuster of superlatives, in which Tatsuki Suzuki also wants to get involved thanks to his strong pace from P9.
Just a week after narrowly missing out on a home win, Collin Veijer gave his German racing team a brilliant pole position at their home Grand Prix after setting a new Moto3 lap record on his final qualifying lap to become part of the long Sachsenring history. Veijer took the lead with a 0.336s advantage over David Alonso and Luca Lunettea, who completed the front row of the grid. The enthusiastic fans around the 3.67 km track celebrated the 19-year-old for his outstanding performance. Powered by the support of the German fans, the Dutch shooting star will be aiming for his second win of the season on Sunday in the 23-lap race, which is expected to take place in a little cooler conditions.
Meanwhile, Tatsuki Suzuki worked his way up from P12 in free practice to the top 10 in P2 with successive improvements, which put the Japanese rider directly to Qualifying 2. This development on the challenging track gave him and his crew confidence for a similarly strong fight for the starting grid for the ninth Grand Prix of the year. Suzuki, like team-mate Veijer, was one of the last to start the heated Q2, which was held under bright blue skies and 28°C air temperature. The tarmac temperature was an impressive 42°C, which put as much strain on the Pirelli tyres as it did on the 26-year-old's Husqvarna, who lost just 0.769s to new lap record holder Veijer at the end of the 15-minute session, making Sunday's Sachsenring Grand Prix a promising spectacle.
The Moto3 battle starts at 11:00 (CEST).
Results
Free Practice
1. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'25.938
2. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'26.118 1(+0.180)
3. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'26.127 (+0.189)
8. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'26.689 (+0.751)
12. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'27.067 (+1.129)
P1
1. Stefano NEPA/ ITA/ KTM – 1'25.283
2. Ivan ORTOLA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'25.314 (+0.031)
3. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'25.347 8(+0.064)
4. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'25.379 1(+0.096)
16. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'25.923 (+0.640)
P2
1. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'25.053
2. Luca LUNETTA/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'25.231 (+0.178)
3. Angel PIQUERAS/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'25.250 (+0.197)
4. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'25.286 (+0.233)
7. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'25.403 (+0.350)
Q2
1. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'24.885
2. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'25.221 (+0.336)
3. Luca LUNETTA/ ITA/ HONDA – 1'25.222 (+0.337)
9. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'25.654 (+0.769)
