06.11.2021

Lecuona impresses with 10th place on the grid for Algarve MotoGP™

MotoGP 2021 - Round 17 of 18, Algarve International Circuit (POR)

Iker Lecuona KTM 2021 MotoGP Algarve Qualification © KTM Images/Polarity Photo

This press release has: 17 Images

Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Iker Lecuona entered Q2 and confirmed 10th place on the grid during qualification for the penultimate round of the 2021 MotoGP series at the Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve. Round seventeen of the championship is also the second visit to the spiralling Algarve International Circuit this season.

- Lecuona shaves almost two seconds from his lap-time on Friday to enter Q2 and seal 10th

- 15th, 17th and 19th for Danilo Petrucci, Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder respectively

- Jaume Masia to start Moto3™ Grand Prix from 5th place

- 1-2 for Red Bull KTM Ajo in Moto2™ with Raul Fernandez on Pole

For the third time in almost a year MotoGP returned to the technical and daunting Algarve International Circuit in southern Portugal. After the Gran Premio do Portugal in April, both KTM MotoGP teams were able to tackle the 4.6km layout for the Algarve round as the series launched into the final double header in Portimao followed by the relatively short trip into Spain and to Valencia.

Compared to the changeable climate seen in Misano two weeks ago, Portimao was sunny, bright and chilly throughout Free Practice and Qualification on both Friday and Saturday. Lecuona headed the KTM quartet in terms of lap-times - shining especially in FP4 - but the riders fought for the best traction and grip as the lap-times stayed extremely close.

Lecuona forced his way into Q2 with the second best effort in Q1. He then negotiated the short session to confirm 10th and another positive Saturday of work after classifying 8th during qualifying in Misano two weeks ago. Behind the Spaniard on the fourth row of the grid is teammate Danilo Petrucci. The Italian’s 15th position represents his second-highest Saturday result of the year. Miguel Oliveira, the winner of the inaugural Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit last year, could not force his way out of Q1 and will start from 17th while Brad Binder’s Q1 was ruined by a crash on Turn 3 that saw the South African run out of time for another time attack.

The race timetable on Sunday sees MotoGP following Moto3 and the red light will go out at 14.00 CET.

Iker Lecuona: “All day I felt very strong. Yesterday we did a good job already and this morning in FP3 we improved. I had a very strong pace. On my fast lap I made it nearly directly to Q2, so I was very confident for this afternoon. In Qualifying we have been working for the race, which was successful as well.In Q1 I felt very strong. In Q2, we didn’t have any new rear tyres left, so I went out with used ones. With another new soft, I think I could have made it into the first three rows, but it’s ok. I’m really happy and want to say thanks to my team because we are working really hard and we are more than ready for tomorrow.”

Danilo Petrucci:“I’m happy about the work we did. Qualifying was quite good. We still have to find the perfect setup, but I feel good. I don’t think we have to change a lot for tomorrow. The tyre choice will surely be the key. Our starting position is pretty decent this time, we are close to the others and I’m really satisfied with how everything went today.”

Miguel Oliveira: “A tough qualifying. I felt that we’d found a bit more speed and pace but not enough. This afternoon we need to collect information and also see what the Tech3 boys did. We need to analyze and see what spec of bike we can use tomorrow. It’s not the best starting position for my home GP but I gave my best and tomorrow is another opportunity to do that again. Hopefully the result will be a bit better.”

Brad Binder: “Not the day we wanted. We’ve been struggling all weekend so far and haven’t been up to pace. I had a small crash in qualifying which meant I didn’t post a lap in the first run. We put a new rear tire in but again I couldn’t get a decent lap done. 19th tomorrow and there is not much we can do about it. We’ll do our homework tonight and see what we can do in the race.”

KTM GP Academy

Moto3 was headed by Sergio Garcia with the closest KTM RC4 rider coming in 5th place thanks to Red Bull KTM Ajo Jaume Masia. The Spaniard will set off from the middle of the second row. Masia was following teammate and Moto3 standings leader Pedro Acosta as the teenager unfortunately had to concede his final flying attempt in Q2 due to breaching track limits on Turn 4. He ranked 14th for the fifth row. Acosta can win the world championship tomorrow if he claims the race. If the teenager makes the podium in 2nd or 3rd then and sole threat Dennis Foggia has to finish lower than 4th or 5th for KTM to embark on their second successive title celebrations in Portimao.

Red Bull KTM Ajo swept the top two positions in Moto2. Raul Fernandez lodged his seventh Pole Position of the season in Portimao: where he posted his first career victory in Moto3 in 2020 and also won the Grand Prix in Moto2 in April. Remy Gardner was just two tenths of a second away in 2nd. Gardner leads the championship by 18 points, which means if the Australian wins the race Fernandez has to climb the podium in order to shuffle the title dispute to Valencia.

Races: November 7th, 2021 – Moto3 12.20 CET | MotoGP 14.00 CET| Moto2 15.30 CET

Results Qualifying MotoGP Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:38.725

2. Jack Miller (AUS) Ducati +0.104

3. Joan Mir (ESP) Suzuki +0.168

4. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati +0.191

5. Johann Zarco (FRA) Ducati +0.193

10. Iker Lecuona (ESP) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing +0.662

15. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:39.595

17. Miguel Oliveira (POR) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:39.624

19. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:39.859

Results Qualifying Moto2 Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve