Improvements do not show in qualification

The lap times of Bo Bendsneyder and Dominique Aegerter were again better on the second day of the GP of Styria, but the riders of NTS RW Racing GP were not very successful. In qualifying for the second Moto2 race at the Red Bull Ring, Bendsneyder came no further than 26th place. Aegerter starts from 28th place.

Feelings were mixed this Saturday. There are indeed improvements for both Bendsneyder and Aegerter, but this is not visible in terms of positions. In the third free practice, for example, Bendsneyder was more than two tenths faster and that pace was fairly consistent. That resulted in a better position in the combined rankings. Aegerter was also slightly faster on the Red Bull Ring, but with him the difference with the top got bigger.
In the considerably warmer qualifying, Bendsneyder was able to stay close to his training times, but that was not enough. The Dutchman’s 1.29.993 resulted in only 26th place. Teammate Aegerter also had a difficult time. The Swiss came to 1.30.451, which means 28th place on the starting grid.

Bo Bendsneyder: “Compared to yesterday – and certainly compared to last week – we have really taken a good step, but unfortunately the position does not show that. Last week I couldn’t get into the 29’s. Now I could and quite constantly. These are small steps, but it is positive, especially for the longer term. In qualifying it was very difficult for everyone due to the heat. Still, I was only two tenths of my fastest time. That’s not too bad, but on a track like the Red Bull Ring, where it comes to thousands, it means we’re way too far from where we should be.”

Dominique Aegerter: “In FP3 the time was better, but the bike didn’t feel very comfortable. The heat was added to that in qualifying. I think the track temperature was 54 degrees or so. That heat is not very good for our machine. I didn’t get a good feeling and I couldn’t push. The rider did not match the bike in this case. I had doubts about going back to the box, but there was not enough time for that. I tried to compensate with my body and riding style, but that didn’t help to squeeze out a decent lap time either, so now we start at the back. I’m terribly sorry for the team, because they work so hard.”