The final weekend of the 2024 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season got off to a blistering start with hot sun and track action.
In the last seconds of Qualifying, Argentine 16-year-old Valentin Perrone snatched pole position from Cup points leader Álvaro Carpe.
Carpe, the 17-year-old Spaniard, will line up in the middle of the front row with the second quickest time. His closest Cup rival, fellow countryman Brian Uriarte the 16-year-old, completes the front row in 3rd.
Uriarte is 13 points behind Carpe with two races to go and Perrone stands 3rd in the title chase, 41 points off the leader.
Perrone might have gone faster
“It was difficult because at the beginning I was riding alone, I kept pushing. Then I saw that the lap time was so fast and I went through the pit lane and back onto the track. I saw the group was far ahead and I just kept pushing. In the last lap, I caught one rider and picked up his slipstream and that gave me the good lap time.”
“It was not the perfect lap because I only had one slipstream, If I had caught the full group it could have been even faster. I’m confident, the bike is working well and I have a plan for the last lap,” he concluded with a big smile.
Carpe confident
“It’s good because again I’m in the first row. That’s incredible because I think that I have been in the first row for the last 4 or 5 races. It makes a difference in the early laps because you have the best chance to stay out of trouble, not getting bumped into.”
“I think tomorrow will be a group race, I don’t know how many. In Free Practice 1 and 2, I rode sometimes alone and I am confident like that. In Qualifying I had a lot of riders following me but as long as I could get to the front of the group I could set a fast time.”
Uriarte has a plan
“Quite nice, I’ve raced here 3 times in the Italian Championship I think. It’s a track I enjoy, some very hard braking sections and some very fast corners, both are good for me.”
“The bike is good, it is the same I have felt all year, I feel comfortable and I can predict what it will do. It’s not perfect there is some chatter and some sliding but that’s normal, I know what it will do.”
“It’s going to be a close race, just a small group I think. Normally I don’t think too much about last-lap plans, anything can happen. But for tomorrow, I think I have something,” he concluded with a wry grin.
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