Title Challenger Ogura On Third Row At Aragon
MotorLand AragónMoto2 World Championship challenger Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) will start Moto2’s gruelling run of three races on three consecutive Sundays from the third row of the grid at Aragon tomorrow.
This was an impressive performance from Ogura, who had ended free practice nearly a second down on the fastest times, forcing him to go through Q1 to fight for a better grid position in Q1, when he reduced the gap to pole position to just 0.509 seconds.
The 21-year-old from Saitama currently stands second in the title chase, just four points behind leader Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull Ajo Kalex), who qualified on pole position this afternoon. He therefore knows he will need a strong start to get with the lead group and then develop his strategy as the race goes on.
Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) qualified just one place behind his team-mate in ninth place to complete the third row of the grid. The 23-year-old Thai rider finished free practice in 12th, guaranteeing himself a place in Q2, further improving his pace in qualifying.
Fernandez will be joined on the front row of the grid by team-mates Albert Arenas (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team) and Jake Dixon (Shimoko GASGAS Aspar Team), the trio covered by less than three tenths of second.
Row two will be San Marino GP winner Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up Boscoscuro), Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40 Kalex) and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull Ajo Kalex). They are followed by Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), Ogura and Chantra on the third row.
Tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Aragon is followed by next Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi and the Thai GP the following weekend. The final three races of 2022 will take place over a further five weekends： the back-to-back Australian and Malaysian events and finally the Valencia GP on 6 November.
From FP2 to FP3 we made a big step on the bike and my riding side. Generally, we improved a lot from day one to day two. In Q1 my lap time was better than I expected because we used the hard rear tyre option. In Q2, with the soft option, the lap time was even better. The lap time and the position are acceptable, considering our situation on day one. About the race, the guys in front of me are fast riders. The race will be challenging, and I should try to overtake them and avoid mistakes. I don't have any particular plan, only to finish the race and do my maximum.
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I'm happy about this P9 because this circuit is challenging for me. The setup of the bike improved a lot and made me very confident. Yesterday we did a long run with a constant lap time, working to have a bike as stable as possible. I think it will be possible to fight until the end of the race.
