In sweltering Jerez heatwave conditions, Maximo Quiles was in brilliant form taking pole from an impressive Marco Morelli with points leader Angel Piqueras completing the front row. The second event in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season demands that 15-year-old Spaniard Quiles bounce back from a very disappointing opening weekend in Portugal and show he can match his fellow countryman, 16-year-old Piqueras.
Quiles won a desperately thrilling Jerez Race 2 last year but Piqueras had been 2nd in Race 1 and these two rivals will give no quarter this weekend.
It is unlikely to be just the pair chasing the win as Morelli, the 15-year-old Argentine demonstrated with a blistering Qualifying performance now that he is feeling at home on the KTM.
Maximo Quiles even stronger than last year
“Pole position is good, that makes me happy. I think the lap time could be even better because I didn’t get any slipstream but I am very comfortable, I have good rhythm, good feeling, the bike is perfect.”
“In FP2 I tried the shorter gearing but I was on the rev limiter on the back straight and that was when I was riding alone, with the slipstream it would be worse so we went back to the medium gearing.”
“I am very happy with the bike, I think I do have a little bit of chatter but I don’t remember which turn so I will just think about things a bit and talk to the guys.”
“I feel even stronger than last year and I think I can make a good race.”
Marco Morelli confident
“P2 is a great position for tomorrow, I was happy with the progress through Practice and Qualifying. I feel confident on the bike now and ready to race tomorrow.”
“I enjoyed Portimão, I knew the track but I was learning about the bike. I am a lot more confident after those two races, I have done many laps here so all together I feel much stronger.”
“The bike and I are working well together now. In Free Practice 2 I was not so happy with the front but we worked on that, the guys found a good solution and now it is really great.”
Angel Piqueras fast but looking for more
“I’m happy with that, happy to be on the front row. We didn’t change a lot through Practice and Qualifying but now I have to think if we should try something because I have some chattering on the front and perhaps we can make it better. It’s just when I am hard on the brakes going into the corner.”
“It’s hot out there and we will have to watch the tyre performance later in the race, it could drop off. I am feeling good about the race though, we’ll see how it goes.”
Jacob Roulstone takes a step forward
“I’ve been working very hard in the break since Portimão and that is paying off I think,” said the 18-year-old Australian. “I am very happy with the way that today went.”
“It was tricky, hot and slippery out there so you have to be as smooth as possible on the bike. In Free Practice 2 I was trying to work as much alone as I could, just focus on race pace and try and do many consistent times, not focus on one lap pace.”
“Going into Qualifying I felt confident, I knew I had to get the lap time early because later on the games start.”
“Since Portimão I have been testing on my Junior GP bike and then here I got some good help in FP1 from Dani (Ribalta, rider coach) He helped me out with some tips. Also, I’ve worked on staying cool, going into it cool and calm, not hot and bothered, I think that is important.”
Dodo Boggio recovering from his testing injury
“Changing down is still difficult but I am very happy to be back on the bike and qualifying on the second row,” enthused the 15-year-old Italian.”
“I was happy with FP1 this morning, I did well, P7 then FP2 I was very bad, I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike I ran alone for the session, P14. Then we got new tyres for Qualifying, the new tyre is very very good and I felt great so I could improve more than one second.”
“The bike is perfect now so tomorrow in the race I will enjoy it. In the race I will forget about the pain from my ankle, the racing takes over, I will only feel the pain after the race,” he laughed.
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