Zarco Claims 125cc GP Pole Position During Rain-Affected Qualifying Session In Italy

Zarco Claims 125cc GP Pole Position During Rain-Affected Qualifying Session In Italy

© 2011, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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FIM 125cc GP World Championship Mugello, Italy July 2 Qualifying Results: 1. Johann ZARCO, France (DERBI), 1:58.988 2. Luis SALOM, Spain (APRILIA), 2:00.620 3. Sergio GADEA, Spain (APRILIA), 2:00.903 4. Efren VAZQUEZ, Spain (DERBI), 2:01.026 5. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (APRILIA), 2:01.033 6. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (APRILIA), 2:01.093 7. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (APRILIA), 2:01.201 8. Hector FAUBEL, Spain (APRILIA), 2:01.351 9. Adrian MARTIN, Spain (APRILIA), 2:01.679 10. Louis ROSSI, France (APRILIA), 2:01.768 More, from a press release issued by Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team: SERGIO GADEA WILL START FROM THE FIRST ROW OF THE STARTING GRID FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON AND MAVERICK VIÑALES WILL START FROM THE THIRD ROW Mugello, 2nd July 2011. Today the rain took the 125cc class riders by surprise during the qualifying practice of the GP de Italia which will be held tomorrow at the Mugello circuit. The QP duration was cut down to twelve minutes. Against all odds the rain began to fall when there were only twenty-eight minutes to go and the starting grid was set up according to the times recorded at this moment as the track was wet and the conditions complicated and the riders were advised to wait in the box in case it would stop raining and the track would dry off and be practicable again. This is not how it went though. Sergio Gadea took advantage of this opportunity as he scored the third best time and will hence start from the first row of the grid for the first time this year. Yesterday the Puçol-born rider was the best during the second free practice also interrupted by the rain and this morning he was the third best in the free practice 3. He is generally quite successful on this track with a record of two podiums and he is confident he will battle for a win as he will start from the first row. Maverick Viñales, however, got penalized by the rainy conditions but still he managed to qualify seventh and will start from the third row hence putting an end to this lucky series of four consecutive first rows and two pole positions at the last two GPs. The Roses-born rider who experienced a few engine issues during the free practices this morning and because of the most difficult part of Mugello the third partial was not able to ride as much as he wanted to due to the rain and will have to take advantage of the twenty-minute warm-up to solve a few issues in order to complete the set-up of his Aprilia. 33 SERGIO GADEA (3rd, 2’00.903, +1.915): “I am glad because it had been a long time since we last qualified in the first row. Even though the circumstances were quite odd I think I played it smart. Rain is always around and it sounds like a lie and although I took it out to the track for the running-in with a worn-down tire hence risking a possible break-down I decided to ride as fast as possible as the rain was beginning to fall and finally things went fine and I got myself a qualifying position in the first row for the first time this season. Little by little we have come a long way and even though the set-up is not quite how it should be and the bike is not at 100% to me we still have the warm-up to refine those details. I am generally quite successful on this track and I hope I will take advantage of it and of my qualifying position to battle for a win. I’d like to thank the team for their work and I hope I will reward them with a good result.” MAVERICK VIÑALES (7th, 2’01.201, +2.213): “The rain annoyed us quite a lot today because it didn’t allow us to work on various things we had planned to try out during this qualifying practice and it made the adaptation complicated. For a start things didn’t run smoothly this morning. It’s a difficult track and I am not feeling at ease yet I tried to find out a wheel to tackle some bits of the track that weren’t clear to me but I am lacking practice and kilometers this time. In the third partial I didn’t get these bits of the track quite all right but now I do. We rode very little due to the rain which fell yesterday during the second free practices we only took a few laps and it started to rain right after the official practice began and that annoyed us. Tomorrow we will have to take advantage of the warm-up to get things in order a little. We have to work well to try out what the rain didn’t allow us to try out today above all to get the best output from the engine. The objective is still the same, to make a good start and ride a good race in order to get a good result.”

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