Van den Goorbergh achieves his best qualifying result with P2 in Japan, Baltus qualifies in strong seventh place
RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP had a very good qualifying day at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan. Zonta van den Goorbergh achieved the best qualifying result of his career so far with a second place, while teammate Barry Baltus qualified in a very creditable seventh position.
This weekend, the Japanese Grand Prix is being held at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan. On Friday, Zonta van den Goorbergh finished 15th on the timesheets and Barry Baltus 18th which meant it would be important to have a dry track on Saturday morning, so they could still try to get straight into Q1. That was not the case due to rain in the morning which meant both RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP riders had to take part in Q1.
In that session, Van den Goorbergh and Baltus were both fast with second and third place respectively and therefore still securing a place in Q2. At the start of the Q2 session it started raining again so it was important to strike as quickly as possible. Van den Goorbergh did this very strongly and qualified in second place, just 0.006 seconds from pole position. It is the Dutchman’s best qualifying result and the second time he has been on the front row of the grid.
Baltus was also very sharp and rode the seventh fastest time in the second qualifying session. It is his best qualifying result since the season opener in Qatar which puts him on the third row of the grid. It will now be up to both RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP riders to convert this good starting position and the confidence gained into a good result in the race.
Zonta van den Goorbergh – P2: “It was a crazy day. Yesterday I said that I hope it wouldn’t rain today, so I wasn’t too happy when I woke up this morning. Therefore I had to come through Q1, but fortunately the feeling in Practice 2 was good. I managed to go to Q2 and the track was still fast, even though it was raining already. I thought we had to do a 1’49 low but in the end I did a 1’52, thinking that it wouldn’t be enough. In the end I’m a bit bitter about the 0,006 seconds to pole position, because I never thought the first lap would be the fastest. Still, I am very happy about this result because it definitely wasn’t easy, but now it’s important to have a good race tomorrow.”
Barry Baltus – P7: “I’m quite happy, it has been quite a good day. After yesterday we made a step forward and in every session, the feeling with the bike became better. The conditions in qualifying were very tricky but we timed our lap well. Now it’s time to follow it up with a good race again as we finished 12th in Aragón and 11th last week. We are moving in the right direction so let’s see what we can do in tomorrow’s race, hopefully the weather conditions will be stable. I want to thank the team for their work and let’s give it our all tomorrow.”
Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “We have had the speed all weekend but in the Moto2 class it is also important to peak at the right time. That wasn’t the case yesterday which meant we were in Q1. Then it’s a fight to get to Q2 and both riders did a great job with a second and third time. This also gave them a good feeling with the machine in the tricky conditions of Q2. It was already raining lightly but we felt it was getting heavier, therefore it had to happen straight away on the first lap. Therefore, in this case it was an advantage to be in Q1 because you have already experienced the track conditions and are just coming off the bike.
Either way, it still had to happen and they both did, resulting in a great second starting position for Zonta and a very nice seventh position for Barry. Zonta missed his first pole position by just 0.006 seconds, which is obviously very little, but as is often the case in Moto2, it’s all about thousandths.
This result is also thanks to the team who prepared two very good bikes, they did a very good job. Tomorrow is another day and we are in good shape. As always, it will be very important to get through the first few laps well, maintain the position and make sure we keep the connection with the leading group. It will be a long race and hopefully we can get a nice result.”
The 19-lap Moto2 race at the Mobility Resort Motegi will start at 12:15pm local time, 05:15am Dutch time, on Sunday.