JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain: In hot conditions with 30 degree air and 52 degree track temperature, QMMF Racing Team riders Anthony West (pictured below) and Roman Ramos (pictured below, left) qualified in 24th and 33rd position for the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Both tried everything possible to improve set-up and tyre grip of their Speed Up prototypes, but there is still plenty of work left to do. Since the Moto2 race will be started at 12.20 h local time, much earlier in the day than qualifying, the conditions will be different again, fuelling the hope of both riders to be able to achieve their goals.
Anthony West said on Saturday: “We struggled with grip since the beginning of the season and finally got on top of it in Argentina, where we got the bike working quite well. But here it became difficult to ride again.”
The 32-year-old Australian added: “We have done everything to try and get grip out of the bike, but in these hot conditions it was nearly impossible. It’s been really hard to ride the bike all day, I kept losing the front and almost crashed every lap.”
West explained: “We compared an old rear tyre that had done 25 laps with a new one, but it hardly made any difference. Honestly, I am not sure what to do for tomorrow. We are in a bad position, I don’t have grip and the bike is not turning very well either!”
Ramos said it was a difficult weekend;
“So far, it has been a difficult weekend,” Ramos said.
“We are struggling to find the right set-up for my bike and I’ve been suffering a lot, especially in the heat. All we can do is keep trying to find a solution for the race tomorrow. We will go through all our data again and see what we can come up with. My goal for the race remains the same: I want to be able to put up a fight with some of the other riders and achieve the best possible result,” he added.
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