Bendsneyder and Biesiekirski continue to progress
On the second day of the Emilia-Romagna GP Bo Bendsneyder and Piotr Biesiekirski continued the progress they have started on the first day. Both riders of NTS RW Racing GP managed to improve their times significantly again. In terms of positions, the upward trend was not as visible as hoped for. Bendsneyder starts the Moto2 race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from 23rd place, Biesiekirski makes his GP debut from 29th place.
Also today it all looked a lot better than last week for Bendsneyder. The racepace on used tires was especially promising. In the first half of the third free practice, it seemed that the Dutchman was certainly not without a chance for qualification for Q2. In the end of that session, however, he could not beat his best time of 1.36.679.
He did succeed in Q1, but with 1.36.569 he did not qualify for a place in the top four, so Bendsneyder had to settle for 23rd place on the grid.
Biesiekirski also today made huge steps. In FP3 the rookie already approached the fastest time of Jesko Raffin last week with 1.39.528, and in Q1 – the first time for the Polish rider in this system – he beat that time, with 1.39.413. “It’s not really fair to compare the times – Jesko was far from fit – but for a boy who is riding a GP machine for the first time on a circuit that is new to him, it is certainly impressive what Piotr does,” said NTS RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen. “The step from European to World Championship level is a very big one, there is an awful lot coming towards him. He’s thrown into the deep end, but he stands firm and improves himself every lap. It will be a long race for him, but that also means that he can learn a lot and gain experience.”
Janssen was also positive about Bendsneyder. “Compared to last week, we have really made progress and are a lot more competitive. Now it is a matter of the finishing touches and hoping for a good start.”
Bo Bendsneyder: “In FP3 this morning we made a good step on used tires. At the end of the session we put in new tires, but I couldn’t improve my time. I could do so in Q1 and I am satisfied with that, although the position is not yet what we had hoped for. We are missing a few tenths on paper, but in terms of race pace we do have a better prospect than last week. We are going to see how far we can get tomorrow.”
Piotr Biesiekirski: “I’m not fully happy with the lap time as I was hoping for a 1.38 today but we’ve approached the short qualifying like another practice session and keep focusing on building experience. It will also be the case tomorrow, both during the warm-up and the race itself. I want to finish the Grand Prix with the best possible pace and get more of an understanding of the bike. On the other hand we’re happy with the progress as I was improving my pace with every outing. The team made some changes to the setup after yesterday which worked well and were a step in the right direction. I’d also like to thank the fans for their understanding and massive support in these last few days.”