Baltus and Van den Goorbergh on fifth and sixth row of the grid for Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez
Barry Baltus and Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified 13th and 18th respectively for the Moto2 race at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto on Saturday afternoon. The weather conditions weren’t helpful for RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP but despite that the team is on the fifth and sixth row of the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.
After a very good first day of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, the second day was a lot more difficult for RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP. The second and closing practice session was run on a wet track with both riders so far unable to find a good feeling with the Pirelli rain tyres.
Qualifying in the afternoon did take place on a virtually dry track, despite there were still wet patches on some places on the Spanish tarmac. An early crash by Van den Goorbergh in the second qualifying session left the Dutchman no further than eighteenth on the grid. Baltus clocked the 13th lap time in qualifying.
Despite both riders not performing optimally in qualifying, anything is certainly still possible in Sunday’s race and Baltus and Van den Goorbergh will be looking to make strides towards the top ten with a consistent race pace.
Barry Baltus – P13: “In the morning we struggled a lot with the rain conditions and in the afternoon it was dry, but we did only two runs of two laps so it wasn’t easy. We managed a decent lap time but it wasn’t enough for a better position so tomorrow will be a tough race. I’ll try my very best to bring home a good result.”
Zonta van den Goorbergh – P18: “Today has been a tough day, it certainly wasn’t what I had envisaged after yesterday. Unfortunately, we are a bit further back on the grid than expected but it is what it is. I’m going to do my very best to go forward in the race tomorrow and get a good result.”
Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “It wasn’t exactly a great day for us. It started in the morning with a session in the rain and we had a tough time. Normally with both riders we are very strong in these conditions but with the Pirelli tyres that feeling is not there, which makes it extremely difficult.
In the afternoon it was fortunately dry and thanks to yesterday’s good performance we were in Q2 with both riders. That gives peace of mind because you know there is a chance to qualify well. This qualifying was ended up being very difficult for us with a very early crash by Zonta, unfortunately we could not continue the session with him. That resulted in an eighteenth starting position and that’s not what we were hoping for considering yesterday’s results.
In the end, we have to accept it as it is and with a thirteenth and eighteenth starting position, we are certainly not in a bad position. It still gives us a good chance to get good results in the race tomorrow.”
The 21-lap Moto2 race at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto will start at 12:15 on Sunday afternoon.