Valencia GP: WELL PREPARED FOR SUNDAY’S SHOWDOWN
After qualifying, Stefan Bradl was even more pleased about the well-done preparation for the race than about his strong 14th spot on the grid.
Likewise in Malaysia two weeks‘ time ago, Bradl qualified for the fifth row again. In best conditions with marvelous weather today, his crew and he managed it almost perfect to adapt the bike’s setup for the requirements of the challenging tight and twisty circuit in Valencia.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia), Grid position 14 – 1´31.824 (7/8):
“I’m pleased with the result today because we were able to confirm our good qualifying performance thus far. However, we were focussed on our race pace during all free practice sessions and I think we are well prepared for race day. The qualifying started somewhat different to our expectations, as I wasn’t able to take full benefit from my first run. However, after we put in new tyres for the second outing I was more aggressive in terms of riding and in doing so I was able to improve. Finally, I set a good lap time and qualified for a promising spot on the grid. Beyond that I’m pleased too because I lapped consistently during FP4 this afternoon. We tried different things for the suspension but it didn’t work out so we switched back to the previous setup which is similar to that we used last time out in Sepang and with which we will head into tomorrow’s race. The race distance with 30 laps will be demanding in terms of tyre wear though, our pace is good it will be important to manage the tyres well in order to be able to race a consistent high pace till the line. Anyway, I’m confident because we did a great job during days of practice. I look forward to a nice conclusion of the season with a strong result hopefully.“
Qualifying Classification:
1 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 1´30.011
2 Marc MARUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´30.499 +0.488
3 Dani PEDROSA / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´30.516 +0.505
14 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 1´31.824 +1.813 (Q1)