Qatar GP: PRACTICE CRASH TO RUIN FP4
Stefan Bradl suffered a setback during his work to develop the Aprilia RS-GP prototype on Saturday.
A crash during FP4 came at the worst possible time when Bradl and his crew started to work on preparations for the grid deciding qualifying practice. In addition, the reason for the low-sider isn’t clear yet about which the 26-year-old German MotoGP rider is a bit confused now. Consequently, Bradl missed a bit of his confidence entering QP1 where he wasn’t able to improve his lap time further. The Aprilia rider therefore will start Sunday’s opening race at the Grand Prix of Qatar from row seven.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Grid position 20th – 1´57.216 (6/8):
“That fact, that just Saturday shouldn’t be our best day this weekend so far, is a bit annoying. I was following our plan for FP4 till that point a crash stopped our session abruptly. I’m not really sure what was the problem, but fortunate I didn’t suffer any injury and the bike was fixed quickly. What we are still missing and what we need to find, is that feeling when I’m pushing to the limit as well a certain operational stability with the electronics when conditions are changing. The positive aspect after this disappointing evening is that we can just do better tomorrow. The more laps we put in, the more we learn about our new Aprilia RS-GP.”
MotoGP™ Qualifying Classification:
1 #99 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´54.543
2 #93 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´54.634 +0.091
3 #25 Maverick VINALES / SPA / Team SUZUKI ECSTAR / Suzuki / 1´54.638 +0.095
20 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / 1´57.216 +2.673