Based on what was seen on Friday, Andrea Iannone had very different expectations. In the end, the Italian rider had to settle for twelfth place in qualifying at the end of a session fraught with difficulties. In fact, the speckled Rio Hondo track kept all the riders in check and The Maniac paid the price, so much that he was relegated to the fourth row.
“The most we could have taken home today was Rins’ result – Andrea admitted – I don’t know what choices Alex made. I need to review the data. At the beginning of the session, I started with the soft tyre on the rear and I did not have confidence – he recalled – I had better sensations with the medium, but I was unable to be as fast as I wanted.”
Andrea is not making any excuses for the performance in qualifying.
“We improved compared to FP4 but not much at all, whereas the others took an incredible step forward – number 29 commented – We almost never find conditions like today during the season and I struggle quite a bit with them.”
The Maniac then went into detail.
“When I feel the tyres moving around a lot, I struggle – he admitted – It’s a pity, because in the dry we are competitive. Unfortunately, starting from behind is not the best, but nothing is set in stone yet.”
Therefore, the Suzuki rider seeks to keep his morale high.
“Vale and I will start side by side – he reminded – In general, I can say that I had good sensations. We will need to assess things better tomorrow, trying to understand how the others were so competitive. Our bike has good potential in dry conditions and I think we can do a good race.”