Moto3 Title Hopeful Foggia On Second Row At Jerez
Circuito de Jerez - Ángel NietoHonda’s top-placed Moto3 world-title hopeful Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) will start tomorrow’s sixth race of this year’s 21 races from the second row of the grid, following a brave push for a front-row start at Jerez today.
The 21-year-old Italian had a strong Saturday, coming back from 13th at the end of yesterday to fourth overall at the close of free practice this afternoon and fourth again in qualifying, just 0.119 of a seconds off the front row.
Foggia had a challenging time in last weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix after the rain-lashed Friday and Saturday practice and qualifying sessions which left him 12th on the grid. On Sunday he raced superbly to finish eighth. That result lost him the World Championship lead, by just one point, but without a doubt he is ready to fight for the podium tomorrow and hopefully regain the series advantage.
Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda NSF250RW) was also in the fight for a front-row start this afternoon, the 20-year-old Italian finally completing the Q2 session eighth fastest, 0.435 seconds off pole, to start from row three.
British rookie Scott Ogden (VisionTrack Racing Team Honda NSF250RW) had another impressive day, the 18-year-old qualifying 11th to put him on the fourth row. Tomorrow Ogden will aim for his fourth points score from the last five races and his first Grand Prix top ten.
Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda NSF250RW), winner of the season-opening Qatar GP, ended qualifying two places behind Ogden.
Honda Team Asia’s rookie team-mates Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) and Mario Suryo Aji (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) had contrasting days at Jerez today.
Furusato struggled during practice on his first race weekend at Jerez, but improved his pace in qualifying to take 24th on the grid. This is only the 16-year-old from Kanoya’s fourth Grand Prix, after he missed the opening two races of 2022 due to an injury sustained during pre-season testing.
On the other hand, Aji found a good machine in free practice, only to find too much traffic in qualifying, which he ended 27th fastest. The 18-year-old Indonesian will therefore have to deal with lots of riders in front of him tomorrow but he is determined to fight his way forward and into the top 15.
The Moto3 grid has one weekend off after tomorrow’s racing before reconvening at Le Mans, for the French Grand Prix on 15th May.
I feel good on the bike. We’ve done a very good job today and I believe we have solid chances for the race. In any case, we’ve got to be focused on our race to be at the top as soon as possible. Let's enjoy it!
Until FP3 I didn't feel good on the bike and my lap time wasn't as fast as I expected, even if my average was good. But in Q1 I felt much better. I had bad luck because I lost a good lap time for exceeding track limits, but in general, I'm happy. My target for the race is to score points. I know it won't be easy starting from 24th, but I'll try it.
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I'm a little disappointed with myself. The team has been working very well these days. My feeling on the bike was quite good and I was improving with every practice. In Q1 I found a lot of traffic but also I didn't manage the session well. I need to learn about it today and avoid repeating it. Tomorrow, my target is to make a good start and overtake as many riders as possible. Today is not the last day. Tomorrow we've 22 laps in a race that will be hard.
