· Even in the Grand Prix of Argentina, the riders competing with number 18 obtained pole position in both classes. In Moto2™, with soft compound tyres for both axles, Manuel Gonzalez (Kalex) was the only rider to go under the 1’41 with 1’40.870, which allowed him to improve the record held since 2023 by Alonso Lopez (1’42.472) by more than 1.6 seconds. In Moto3™, Matteo Bertelle (KTM) also took his second pole of the season, by lapping in 1’46.034 on the sixth of eight laps, improving the previous record set by Sergio Garcia in 2022 (1’48.429) by 2.4 seconds, with medium SC2 front and soft SC1 rear compound tyres.
· After an FP1 with a track that still needs to be rubberised and at times damp, already in Friday’s Practice, 8 Moto2™ riders and 16 Moto3™ riders raced below the absolute lap record, while in FP2 on Saturday morning, 21 Moto2™ riders and 22 Moto3™ riders managed the same feat. In Q2, all riders in both classes lapped well below the previous track records.
· In the first two days, temperatures were quite low with very overcast skies at all times. Air temperatures were always between 18 and 20°C, while asphalt temperatures fluctuated between 20°C in the morning sessions, and up to 30°C in Practice and qualifying.
Track records largely improved
“So far, we can be widely satisfied with our tyres’ performance in this circuit, especially considering that this is our first race here, and we have no data to base ourselves on. There are several reasons behind our positive statement. First of all, in both classes, we set the new all-time lap records, with truly remarkable improvements compared to those made with other tyres – we are talking about 1.6 seconds in Moto2™ and as many as 2.4 seconds in Moto3™. Secondly, it is worth mentioning that many riders had lapped below the previous track records in both classes already in the Friday afternoon Practice, and this is not a trivial aspect, as it yields a measure of how quickly the riders can familiarize with our tyres, managing to lap very fast right from the start. Finally, it should be emphasised that these improvements are not only the result of a single rider’s performance, but are rather transversal to everyone, because almost all riders in both classes lapped below the previous all-time lap records. Some of them have also done long runs, and the tyres have shown good levels of wear. For tomorrow’s races, we believe the soft solutions will be the preferred option in Moto2™ for both axles, while in Moto3™ the medium SC2 rear has shown lower levels of wear than the soft SC1, and could therefore be favoured over the race distance, with the soft SC1 being more popular for the front”.
