Van den Goorbergh qualifies eighth in Aragón, Sasaki on seventh row

Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified eighth on Saturday afternoon for the Moto2 race at Motorland Aragón. The Dutchman secured a direct spot in Q2 on Friday afternoon and then secured a place on the third row of the grid on Saturday. Teammate Ayumu Sasaki qualified in 21st position for the Grand Prix of Aragón.

The first two days of the Grand Prix of Aragón took place under sunny and warm conditions, with temperatures of over 30°C. Zonta van den Goorbergh ended Friday with the sixth-fastest lap time, securing direct entry into Q2. Ayumu Sasaki finished the first day 21st on the timesheets, meaning he had to compete in Q1.

In that Q1 session, the Japanese rider set a fastest lap of 1’51.292, which put him seventh in the session and earned him the 21st starting position. Van den Goorbergh had a slow start in Q2, but managed to clock a 1’50.502 on his final lap, securing eighth place on the grid. This is the third time this season that the Dutch rider has qualified in the top eight.

Zonta van den Goorbergh (P8 – 1’50.502 / +0,562):
“We’ve secured a nice spot on the third row for tomorrow, which is definitely a good starting position. We started well this morning with sixteen laps, working on race pace. We definitely learned from that and the feeling was good, even if the position at the time didn’t reflect that. In qualifying it was time to really push, but that certainly didn’t come easily. It took a while before I could put a good lap together — I was really on the limit. In the end, I managed to do it on the final lap, and starting from the third row gives us more chances for tomorrow. Especially compared to Silverstone where we had to come from outside the top twenty. Tomorrow we have to go on the attack. It’s going to be a long and hot race. I expect it to be a battle of attrition, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Ayumu Sasaki (P21 – 1’51.292 / +1,352):
“It was a difficult day, I wanted to do better in terms of position. I felt okay with the bike but we have to improve our pace and find a bit more feeling for tomorrow, so we’ll try to do that. Tomorrow’s race will be long and tyre management will be important, so I will focus on that. I will try to have a good race tomorrow.”

Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager:
“I think we can definitely be satisfied with Zonta’s eighth starting position. He’s been performing well all weekend and there are no major or insurmountable issues. He put in a good lap at the end of qualifying but he had already done well yesterday, which allowed him to go straight to Q2. That creates calm and lets you focus on preparing for the race today. This morning’s race simulation looked good, so if we get a good start, I think we can look forward to a strong race.

The same goes for Ayumu, although he’ll have to come from 21st on the grid. Last year we saw a lot of tyre wear, so managing that will be important. I think he has a good chance to score his first World Championship points of the season tomorrow.”

The 19-lap Moto2 race at Motorland Aragón will start on Sunday afternoon at 12:15h.