Gonzalez Speeds to P7 on the Australian GP Grid

2022-10-20 06:44
Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team‘s Manuel Gonzalez was on form today, cruising through Q1 to take seventh place in a Q2 session that was cut short due to two geese walking on the track. It is his best qualifying result of the 2022 season. Keminth Kubo lost some time at the start of the second day at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit through a technical issue, but he still found an improvement. He secured 26th place on the grid.

This morning Gonzalez missed out on a direct placement in Q2 by a mere 0.057s. But it only spurred the rookie on. He showed he meant business in Q1 when he set a 1‘33.386s on lap 3, taking first place. He later improved to a 1‘33.162s, creating a 0.219s gap to the second fastest rider.

The talented Spaniard continued the positive momentum in Q2. He set a 1‘32.858s on lap 3/8 to settle into sixth place. He later dropped to seventh position in the final stages through a rider posting exactly the same time. Gonzalez was unable to respond as the session was red flagged with just over half a minute to go caused by wildlife walking on the track. It left Manugasss in seventh place, 0.625s from first.

Kubo had an issue on braking in FP3. The technical setback kept him from putting in a hot lap in the morning, but he showed his progress in Q1. He climbed up to 12th place with a 1‘34.501s on lap 5/9, which he held for the majority of the 15-minute session all the way to the chequered flag. The lap puts him in 26th place on the grid.



GELETE NIETO
GELETE NIETO
SPORTS DIRECTOR







Today we are very happy. Manu had a great result, and we know that we are close to our objective. The team worked really well. I congratulate all the guys. We have high expectations for tomorrow.

Kubo suffered from a braking problem in FP3. He didn't do enough laps, and we can say we lost the whole practice session. In Q1 he pushed very hard, improving his lap time a lot. He won't start from the best position on the grid tomorrow, but he has gained confidence, and he can do a good race.




MANUEL GONZALEZ
MANUEL GONZALEZ







P7, my best quali of the year! I struggled in FP3, trying to do a fast lap. I missed Q2 only by one position. We worked on the bike. I was not confident, but in Q1 I was surprised by my pace. It was pretty easy for me to do the fast lap. I know we had the potential to finish in the top 10 in Q2, and in the end we finished in P7. I liked the feeling I had on the bike a lot, but we still have to fix some small things for tomorrow‘s race. It can be one of the best of the season.




KEMINTH KUBO
KEMINTH KUBO







We had a braking problem in FP3, and I couldn't ride well. I pushed as hard as I could in qualifying and improved my lap time a lot. We'll work on the setting today to be ready for the race. A big 'Thank you' to my team, they work hard for me.

Source: Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Moto2 Team

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