Qualifying practice for the Grand Prix de France took place this afternoon with Nico Terol and Pol Espargaró continuing their battle for supremacy from the morning’s final free practice, Bradley Smith and Marc Márquez also joining the fun in a four-way scrap for pole position. The intense competition saw the current pole record of 1’43.918, set in 2008, smashed by two tenths as Bancaja Aspar rider Terol sealed the front spot on the grid for the first time in his Grand Prix career.
The Spaniard has been electrifying through the first three sectors of the Le Mans circuit all weekend but was suffering in the fourth and final split, a situation he managed to put right on his final two flying laps. His Bancaja Aspar team-mate Smith bounced back strongly from the mechanical problems he endured yesterday to set the pace in the early stages, only to see his pole challenge end with a crash in turn seven as he made a late push. However, the Oxfordshire teenager escaped injury and will be fit to take his place on the second row for tomorrow’s race.
1st Nico Terol 1.43.719 (18 laps): “I have been wanting to set pole position for a while, it is something I wanted to get off my back. I’ve come close a few times so to finally do it feels good and it gives me a lot of confidence. The most important thing is obviously the race but I’m happy anyway. I made a strong start to the session and didn’t hold anything back. I had a few scary moments but I just kept pushing because I was so desperate to come out on top today. I am satisfied with the job we’ve done today and I feel ready for the race. Us Spanish guys are looking quick here again and it should be another nice race between us tomorrow, although I expect it to be tough because the top five or six are looking strong and none of us will be pulling punches. Mentally I feel ready and tomorrow I’ll be giving 100% from the first lap to the last. My objective is to win.”
5th Bradley Smith 1.44.172 (19 laps): “Overall I’m happy because this morning we lost a little time setting the bike up but we were competitive this afternoon and we’re ready to race. It is nice to be back up there again, fighting for the top positions, and even though we missed out on the front row on the last lap I know I can run with the front guys tomorrow. We have a big challenge ahead because the guys ahead of us are setting some very fast times but I’ll give it my all to go with them. It hasn’t been an easy weekend with the incident yesterday and the crash today but compared with Qatar and Jerez things are much better. We are back where we belong, the Aprilia is working perfectly again and I feel strong and confident with my race pace.”
