FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS MAKE A POSITIVE START IN MOTEGI
Fortuna Honda 250 riders, Jorge Lorenzo and Hector Barbera,
had differing feelings after the first day of qualifying at
the Grand Prix of Japan. Lorenzo started the day very well
but could not continue his progress in the afternoon after
lacking a bit of feeling with the rear end of the bike. Meanwhile,
team-mate Barbera declared himself satisfied after his performance
in qualifying and insisted he has not felt as comfortable
on his bike all season. However, Lorenzo, who finished the
day in sixth, will still be looking for his first win of the
season this weekend, while Barbera will hope to secure his
first podium of the campaign.
Jorge Lorenzo,
6th + 0’752 off provisional pole (Aoyama)
Free session 1’53.223 (1st position)
Qualifying session 1’53.308 (6th position)
“From the morning to the afternoon my bike’s
performance changed and in the qualifying session I was not
able to enter corners as efficiently as I wanted. There seemed
to be a bit of chattering in the rear end. I was quickest
in the warm-up in the morning and we will try to find that
rhythm again. Although I am a little worried, I don’t
think we should give up on pole position.”
Héctor Barberá,
10th, + 1’399 off provisional pole
Free session 1’54.637 (9th position)
Qualifying session 1’53.955 (10th position)
“It was quite a positive day. The last round at Brno
was an incredible weekend for me: crashes, technical problems
etc. We have started off well here and I feel better physically.
We lapped at a good rhythm and although I could not finish
as high as I wanted, there is a lot of room for improvement.
I am happy, feeling more at home on the bike all the time,
and have found good rhythm. I think I will be amongst the
top riders in this race and want to take advantage of it.”
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