BOTH FORTUNA RIDERS ON THE FRONT ROW
Hector Barbera and Jorge Lorenzo qualified third and fourth
respectively after the first day of qualifying at the Australian
GP at the Phillip Island circuit. Barbera took a major step
forward, whilst Jorge maintained his status as one of the
quickest riders in the class. However, the Mallorcan believes
he has plenty of room for improvement and is hoping to spearhead
Honda’s fight against the Aprilias.
HECTOR BARBERA
1st free session: 4th, 1’35.635, + 0.935 best time (Sebas
Porto)
1st qualifying session: 3rd, 1’33.624, + 0.507 provisional
pole
“I have a good set-up and am feeling good on the bike.
I have enjoyed myself and am getting the opportunity to do
what I like, which is riding the bike and going fast. We made
big changes to the bike this morning and I want to thank my
team for their work and support. I think we have a good set-up
now and we must stay in the top five which was the objective
at the start of the season. It has been difficult but with
hard work and effort we are getting there.”
JORGE LORENZO
1st free session: 3rd, 1’35.066, + 0.366 best time (Sebas
Porto)
1st qualifying session: 4th, 1’33.837, + 0.720 provisional
pole
“It didn’t go badly. We lapped quite fast, it’s
just that the Aprilias are very quick here. We have room to
improve, both the bike and myself. This is a circuit that
I love and I want to take a second or a second or a half off
my time from today.”
Dani Amatrián - Team Manager Fortuna Honda
250cc
“This is the first time this season that both riders
have been together, so well situated on the provisional grid.
I am very satisfied. With Hector, he has made the big step
forward that we have been talking about for several races.
I hope that he can confirm it in tomorrow’s qualifying
and in Sunday’s race. We are also sure that Jorge will
be up there. Jorge is having a few problems with suspension,
but if we improve the set-up tomorrow then both he and Hector
will be fighting for pole.”
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