PREQUALIFICATIONS
After free practice, Spanish drivers were also absolute protagonists in the prequalification which closes the first day of the Texan weekend
12 apr 2024
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On COTA in Austin Jorge Martin seals it with a Martian time (02:01:397) the prequalification of the American Grand Prix but in the finale Maverick Vinales (who had been the fastest in free practice) manages to get close to 76 thousandths, somehow bringing his compatriot back to earth and sealing the second half in front of Marc Marquez, third but 409 thousandths from the top: delays that certify the superior pace put on the Texan asphalt by Jorge and Maverick. In any case, as already in the late morning free practice in the USA, there are three Spanish riders in front of everyone. Fourth half for Francesco Bagnaia who closes his time attack just two thousandths behind the Spanish Cannibal and moves up the rankings after a shift of free “study” and far-sighted tests, probably very useful in terms of races (or rather: races, given that the Sprint Race on Saturday is already imminent). It’s the rookie’s turn Pedro Acosta (GasGas Tech3) close the top five with a delay of 569 thousandths from Martin. Aprilia with both its official RS-GPs directly into the hot phase of Saturday’s qualifying thanks to the sixth time of Alex Espargaro which redeems a free practice session well below the waterline and the state of grace of its teammate. They gain direct access in Q2 also four other Italian drivers. In order from the seventh to the tenth place in the ranking: an increasingly surprising Franco Morbidelli (First Pramac, 706 thousandths behind his teammate), Enea Bastianini instead a little in the shade with the Ducati Lenovo and the pair from the VR46 Ducati team Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi, tenth precisely, 961 thousandths from the top.
The home exploit is just missing
Miguel Oliveira (the first over the second full gap from Martin)
and Raul Fernandez which separate the eleventh and twelfth time (thus missing “straight” access to Q2 by a whisker)
with the “stars and stripes” Aprilias of Trackhouse Racingwhile they surprise on the negative side but above all they disappoint
deeply the KTM factory: fourteenth time for the South African Brad Binder behind a so far lackluster Alex Marquez (Ducati Gresini, recovering from a crash in free practice), sixteenth for the Australian Jack Miller. The GasGas Tech3 (notoriously a KTM painted red…) of
Augusto Fernandez which remains behind Binder by just two thousandths.
Unfortunately for them,
crowding the bottom of the ranking are Yamaha and Honda. Very little chance of making the Q1 cut
Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins which park the M1 Monsters on the seventeenth and eighteenth place in the ranking, putting them behind (but it’s not a great satisfaction!) the entire Honda fleet present at the Circuit Of The Americas. Riding the RC13V by LCR Castrol,
Johann Zarco prevails over the two HRC specimens of Joan Mir (who slipped to the ground on the launch lap of the final time attack) and of our Luca Marini.
The Japanese Takaaki Nakagami brings up the rear with the Honda LCR Idemitsu and a gap of more than two and a half seconds from the top. Without forgetting that even that of the “official” M&M’s (Mir and Marini) exceeded the two.
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2024-04-13 00:24:31
#Austin #prequalification #Martin #books #pole #Vinales #precedes #Marquez #Bagnaia
