Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon to start Le Mans Moto2 race seventh and eighth
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It will be a third row start for both of PETRONAS Sprinta Racing’s Moto2 riders at the French GP tomorrow. In a day of completely dry conditions, Xavi Vierge qualified seventh at the Le Mans circuit, with team-mate Jake Dixon just behind in eighth.
Despite two crashes bookending his FP3 session, Vierge was able to make it directly through to Q2 after setting the 14th fastest time: 1min 37.442secs. After making some changes to the bike, the Spaniard was able to set a series of good flying laps in the closing stages of qualifying, setting a 1min 36.737secs lap. This will see Xavi start tomorrow’s Moto2 race from seventh on the grid.
Team-mate Dixon continued his good form from yesterday, staying at the sharp end of the standings throughout FP3. He also made it to Q2 after setting a 1min 37.116secs time, which placed him seventh. Jake carried the momentum into Q2, where he stayed fourth for the majority of the session. However, after the final flurry of time attacks, the Brit ended qualifying eighth with a fastest lap of 1min 36.826secs.
The Moto2 pair will take to the track for their Warm Up session at 10am local time (4pm MYT) tomorrow. The lights will go out for the 25-lap Moto2 race 2hrs 10mins later than usual, at 2.30pm local time (8.30pm MYT).
Xavi Vierge
7th (1'36.737)
Firstly I need to say thank you to my mechanics for the great job they have done after my two crashes, because they repaired the bike so quickly. From yesterday we knew where we needed to improve, so we tried some things in FP3 and made progress. Unfortunately we then lost some confidence in the front and that is why I crashed. We made another step in qualifying; I recovered the feeling and was able to finish seventh. Our objective was to be on the front two rows, but after a difficult FP3 I am happy with where we are. In the race tomorrow I plan to fight for the best result possible, but also learn from the past races and not make any mistakes.