MotoGP GP de la Rep. Checa – Brno
Team Reale Avintia Racing and their Spanish rider Tito Rabat had a fantastic second day of practice at the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, with Rabat moving straight to the Q2 of the Top 12 riders and scoring a fourth row grid position for the race on Sunday.
After a strong Friday, Rabat confirmed his good feelings with his Ducati on Saturday morning and ended up in ninth position, which paved his way to the Q2 session. In FP4, he concentrated on the best possible race set-up and came to very good conclusions once again. In the Q2, he pulled all stops and improved his lap time significantly, but the others in the top group of MotoGP riders raised the bar as well and Rabat finally took eleventh place.
Teammate Xavier Simeon also improved his lap times in comparison to Friday, but it was not enough to improve his position in the time sheets. Even though his feeling with the bike and with the soft tyre option from Michelin was clearly better, he will have to start from the end of the grid. Nevertheless, Simeon is determined to put up a fight and to battle within a group from the first to the last lap.
“I am very happy because we went directly to Q2 today and this is an amazing achievement. I rode a great lap in qualifying, but the guys in front also pushed very hard. Now we will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. It will be a very tough race, in which you have to be fully concentrated because the smallest details can be crucial. The key will be to manage tyre wear with throttle control. Physically, we are all very strong, so the heat won’t be a problem. But you have to be smooth with the throttle and you also have to avoid sliding under brakes. This is the only way to keep the tyres in good condition until the end and to score a strong result”.
“Things went well this morning and I had a better feeling with the bike. We made a big step forward and I was confident about a good qualification. With the first tyre I didn’t have as much grip as I had in the morning, but when I went out with the second one, the good feeling with the bike returned. I was about to put in my fast lap when Pol Espargaró squeezed past. We slowed each other down and lost this lap. It’s a shame because I could have been closer to the front. Tomorrow I’ll grit my teeth in the race. 21 laps will be tough, but I hope to do well”.
