Collin Veijer secures 2nd grid row in Misano, Suzuki & Rosenthaler in row 8 and 9
Collin Veijer from the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto3 team crashed in qualifying while on the provisional pole, which pushed him down to fifth place on the second row of the grid. Tatsuki Suzuki and Jakob Rosenthaler previously missed out on making it out of Q1 and will consequently position themselves in 23rd place on row eight and P27 on row 9 for the thirteenth Grand Prix of the year.
There was a lot going on on this sunny qualifying day in Italy, where Collin Veijer was the main contender for a perfect grid position on the 4.23 km Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The Dutchman improved his Friday best time in P2 by an incredible 0.867s and the 19-year-old also demonstrated his strength in the following qualifying session. While almost the entire rider field was already doing their laps, Veijer set off alone and immediately set the new best time on the 40°C hot asphalt. Last year's Moto3 rookie held on to this position until a few moments before the end of the session. Just as the rider with the starting number 95 was preparing his final attack to confirm his provisional pole, the curbs in turn 2 proved to be his undoing. Veijer touched the inside curb with his front wheel, which destabilized his Husqvarna. Unable to prevent the crash, he landed in the gravel, but fortunately remained uninjured, meaning that he will start the 20-lap thriller on Sunday at 11:00 am in the best of spirits.
Japanese team-mate Tatsuki Suzuki started the San Marino GP weekend full of enthusiasm, after all, he has lived in this motorcycle-mad region on the Mediterranean for years. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old struggled from the start and worked tirelessly to optimize the feel of his bike. But even 15th place in P2 on Saturday morning was still not where the Japanese rider and his crew wanted to be. In qualifying, he once again gave his all to set a fast lap, but an off-road excursion at the end of the session sealed his fate for this qualifying session. Being ninth in Q1, the veteran will line up on the eighth row in 23rd place on Sunday.
Wildcard rider Jakob Rosenthaler will be close behind him at the start of only his second Moto3 World Championship race. The 18-year-old from Linz is currently contesting his third season for the German racing team in the Moto3 Junior GP. The Austrian already showed strong development at his home race in Spielberg and the youngster also recorded enormous improvements from session to session in Misano. With his 1'41.983 on Saturday morning, Rosenthaler could even have secured 19th place on the grid in qualifying, but unfortunately, he was unable to repeat this time in the much warmer afternoon, which is why he will start the Misano GP from 27th position on row 9.
Results
FP
1. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'41.175
2. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'41.273 (+0.098)
3. Ivan ORTOLA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'41.448 (+0.273)
9. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.793 (+0.618)
14. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.458 (+1.283)
25. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.498 (+2.323)
P1
1. Adrian FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'40.909
2. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.985 (+0.076)
3. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'41.096 (+0.187)
9. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.317 (+0.408)
20. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.949 (+1.040)
23. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.378 (+1.469)
P2
1. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.184
2. Jose Antonio RUEDA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.396 (+0.212)
3. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.450 (+0.266)
15. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.088 (+0.904)
22. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'41.983 (+1.799)
Q1
1. Joel KELSO/ AUS/ KTM – 1'41.472
2. Vicente PEREZ/ SPA/ HONDA – 1'41.716 (+0.244)
3. Taiyo FURUSATO/ JPN/ HONDA – 1'41.900 (+0.428)
9. Tatsuki SUZUKI/ JPN/ HUSQVARNA – 1'42.274 (+0.802)
13. Jakob ROSENTHALER/ AUT/ HUSQVARNA – 1'43.686 (+2.214)
Q2
1. David ALONSO/ COL/ CFMOTO – 1'40.505
2. Luca LUNETTA ITA/ HONDA – 1'40.922 (+0.417)
3. Ivan ORTOLA/ SPA/ KTM – 1'40.940 (+0.435)
5. Collin VEIJER/ NED/ HUSQVARNA – 1'40.959 (+0.454)
