The Belgian talent storms through Q1 to secure a front-row start, while Canet locks in a strong fifth position on the grid.
Outstanding performance today from the Fantic Racing Lino Sonego Team in the qualifying for the French Grand Prix, sixth round of the Moto2 World Championship, at the legendary Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans.
Barry Baltus, the 21-year-old Belgian talent, arrived in Le Mans full of confidence after taking his first podium of the season at Jerez and showed strong pace right from Friday’s opening session. Despite missing out on direct access to Q2 due to a cancelled final flying lap in Practice, Baltus delivered an impressive comeback by topping Q1 with just a single run, to save a set of tires. In Q2, he went on to secure the second-fastest time with a lap of 1’34.642. For Baltus, Le Mans feels almost like a home GP, and tomorrow he will launch from the front row, determined to fight for the podium.
On the other side of the garage, Aron Canet, who took the pole position here last year, claimed a solid fifth spot on the grid today with a time of 1’34.671. Canet has shown consistent pace all weekend and will aim to maximize his starting position to be a key player at the front in tomorrow’s race.
With both riders lining up in promising positions, the Fantic Racing Lino Sonego Team heads into Sunday’s race with strong ambitions. The Moto2 race is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, at 12:15 local time.
Aron Canet: “It’s been a very positive day; we’ve found the optimal feeling again and we’re improving a lot. Tomorrow we can aim high.”
Barry Baltus: “We are really happy today. Yesterday we missed out on the last lap due to a yellow flag, and we couldn’t go straight into Q2. In the end, this turned out to be a small advantage because we got one more time attack. This is a track where we’ve been feeling fast since Friday morning. In FP2, the race pace was good, so it’s important to start from the front row. We’ll try to manage the race in the best way possible. Here, it feels like a home GP for me, so it’s even more special.”
Roberto Locatelli, Fantic Racing Lino Sonego Team Manager: "We are very pleased with the result from the entire Fantic Racing Lino Sonego Team. First of all, with Barry Baltus, who, after his podium in Jerez, will start from the front row. The team is working well, and with him we’ve reached the kind of stability that top teams show — having two extremely fast riders. Canet has done an excellent job and is very close. We want to be contenders with both."
