In Moto2™, with the new Pirelli soft rear, pole position for Arbolino and all-time lap record for Canet; in Moto3™, pole position and track lap record for Alonso
It was an extremely positive start for Pirelli tyres in the Grand Prix of San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini which is being raced this weekend at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli with new all-time lap records in both categories and an outstanding début for the new soft rear solution in Moto2™.
In Moto2™, Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/Kalex), after being fastest in Friday FP, also took pole position, whereas Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) had to settle for fourth place on the starting grid after setting the new all-time lap record in P1. To achieve these results, both riders took advantage of the performance provided by the new soft development tyre in D0640 specification.
In Moto3™, David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO) set the new all-time lap record in P1 and took pole position for the race tomorrow.
“Here in Misano, we once again set the new all-time lap records in both categories – in Moto3™ already in FP on Friday and in Moto2™ in P1 this morning. This is an achievement that is by no means a given if you consider that the previous records dated back to 2020, the year the track had just been resurfaced, so it had much more grip than today. In qualifying, held during the hottest time of the day, the asphalt temperatures increased and that kept the riders from improving on their lap times, although they were still lapping below the previous record. We are extremely satisfied with the performance demonstrated up to now by the new soft rear in D0640 specification, developed for the Moto2™ riders. In its début, it contributed to setting the new track lap record with Canet and almost all the riders liked it straight away, so much that we expect this to be the clear favourite for tomorrow if the race is held on a dry track, combined with the soft SC1 front tyre. In Moto3™, the riders have the standard allocation available to them, with the soft rear clearly favoured for the race, whereas both solutions are valid choices for the front. However, the weather forecast is rather uncertain for tomorrow, with the possibility of rain. In this case, we expect to see our rain tyres in action.”
Moto2™
· Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/Kalex) took pole position for the race tomorrow with a time of 1’35,229 using the new soft rear tyre in D0640 specification combined with the soft SC1 front.
· In the practice sessions, Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team/Kalex) was the fastest in FP, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing/Kalex) dominating both P1 and P2, also setting the new all-time lap record with a time of 1’35.185 in the final session with a soft SC1 compound front tyre and a soft D0640 development tyre at the rear.
· The practice sessions were held with asphalt temperatures between 22°C (in P2) and 36°C in P1, whereas they rose significantly for the qualifiers – over 40°C.
Moto3™
· David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team/CFMOTO), using a soft SC1 rear tyre and a medium SC2 front, took pole position with a time of 1’40.505 on his last out of a total of 6 laps turned. All of the top eight riders lapped below the track record set in 2020.
· Alonso, already in the morning FP sessions, had also set the new all-time lap record in 1’41.175, a time that was later improved on by Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing/Honda) in P1 with a lap done in 1’40.909, and then further improved once again by David Alonso in P2 on Saturday morning with a time of 1’40.184, almost a full second faster than the previous record set by Celestino Vietti in 2020 (1’41.155). To achieve this time, he once again used tyres in medium SC2 compound at the front and soft SC1 at the rear.
· In Moto3™, the practice sessions were also held with asphalt temperatures between 21-22°C in FP and P2 and 36°C in P1, whereas the qualifiers were held on 40°C asphalt.
