M2: TT Assen: Tech 3 qualifying report

Tech 3 Racing aim for strong result at iconic Assen

The Tech 3 Racing Moto2 squad is confident Yuki Takahashi can mount a top six challenge at Assen tomorrow after another incredibly close qualifying session ahead of the historic 80th Dutch TT.

Takahashi claimed his best qualifying result since the Tech 3 Racing Team's home race at Le Mans last month in yet another closely contested session in Moto2.

A best time of 1.40.025 on his last flying lap put Takahashi in contention for a top result in tomorrow's 24-lap race, the Japanese rider ending in 13th position having made big strides in solving front-end issues.

Takahashi was less than a second off pole position and less than three-tenths away from a morale-boosting second row start as he looks to improve on his 11th place in the overall standings tomorrow.

Raffaele de Rosa will start from 27th position on the grid having worked with his usual determination to improve corner entry speed with his Tech 3 Racing machine. He was only 0.6s away from Takahashi but found himself a further 14 places down the rankings, the Italian facing a tough task to claim his first point-scoring finish in the exciting Moto2 series.

Yuki Takahashi 13th 1.40.025 20-laps

"Right from the start of the weekend I've had a problem with the front-end feeling and that has not let me push as hard as I would like or know I can. We've made a big improvement over the weekend but we still need to work more to gain some more confidence. In the fifth and tenth corner I'm losing half-a-second in each and this is a lot of time compared to the other guys. We have an idea for tomorrow and we'll make quite a big change for the warm-up and see how it goes. Even if I could find half-a-second back in those two corners I'd have been much more competitive and fighting for the front row. The target now is to get a good start and try and make sure I get away with the leading group."

Raffaele de Rosa 27th 1.40.676 19-laps

"It was a difficult session and the improvement to the bike we hoped would work from a positive session this morning didn't materialise. I am more confident than I was at the last race in Silverstone because I feel more comfortable on the bike. But we still need to improve the corner entry because that is where I have the majority of my problems. There is a bit of chatter from the front and that doesn't help with the turning, so we need to try and find some solution for the race."

-source: tech 3