Piotr Biesiekirski made further progress during Saturday’s third practice for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, improving his best time by over a second before qualifying for his first ever Moto2 World Championship race in 29th position.
Making his Grand Prix debut with the NTS RW Racing GP Team as the youngest rider on the grid, the 18-year-old Pole finished the second day with a best time of 1:39.413. That’s less than two tenths of a second from last weekend’s best time of the experienced Jesko Raffin, whom he’s replacing during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Biesiekirski will start his first ever Moto2 World Championship race at 12:20 on Sunday, looking to focus on gaining experience onboard a new bike and hoping to continue his steady progress.
“I’m not fully happy with the lap time as I was hoping for a 1:38 today but we’ve approached the short qualifying like another practice session and keep focusing on building experience and mileage – says Piotr Biesiekirski. – It will also be the case tomorrow, both during the warm-up and the race itself. I want to finish the Grand Prix with the best possible pace and get more of an understanding of the bike. On the other hand we’re happy with the progress as I was improving my pace with every outing. The team made some changes to the setup after yesterday which worked well and were a step in the right direction. I’d also like to thank the fans for their understanding and massive support in these last few days.”
“It’s not really fair to compare the times – Jesko was far from fit – but for a boy who is riding a GP machine for the first time on a circuit that is new to him, it is certainly impressive what Piotr does – adds the NTS RW Racing GP Team Manager Jarno Janssen. – The step from European to World Championship level is a very big one, there is an awful lot coming towards him. He’s thrown into the deep end, but he stands firm and improves himself every lap. It will be a long race for him, but that also means that he can learn a lot and gain experience.”
