Best qualification for Bendsneyder and NTS RW Racing GP in Moto2

Bo Bendsneyder starts the Qatar Grand Prix tomorrow from the second row of the grid. Fifth place in the qualification was the best result so far for both Bendsneyder and NTS RW Racing GP in the Moto2. Jesko Raffin starts the race from 22nd place, starting at 18.00 h local time.

Bo Bendsneyder rode a superb qualification. In his fourth lap at the Losail International Circuit, he set a time of 1.58,410; good for second place at that time. With eight minutes to go, the Dutchman, who turned 21 last Wednesday, approached his time a few times, but he could not prevent dropping to fifth. In the third free practice session, earlier in the afternoon, he had already secured Q2 with a tenth place in the rankings of the three combined practices.
Jesko Raffin improved considerably in both FP3 and Q1 qualifying compared to Friday. His time of 1.59.232 was good for eighth in Q1 and so he starts from the 22nd place on the grid Sunday evening.

#64 Bo Bendsneyder: “I am super happy with this fifth place. Especially because it was not an exception: we are in a good position all weekend. It was just a very good lap. But we must remain realistic. It was just the qualification. Tomorrow is the race and that’s what it’s all about. The goal is to give everything and to get the best possible result. I have to thank my team and NTS very much for this. They worked really hard this winter and during the tests to give me the best possible bike and that effort proved successful.”

#2 Jesko Raffin: “We have certainly made a big step, but I cannot be satisfied with 22nd place. The biggest plus is that the feeling and confidence in the qualification were better than in any other session. I am happy with that, because that means that we are on the right track. Everything is possible in the race. I expect that it will be fairly close together and that a few groups will form. I hope to benefit from that. In the warmup I still have to work on my rhythm, because that’s not great yet.”