QATAR WORLD SBK: FIRST DAY

Corentin Perolari discovered the Losail circuit located near Doha. 12th after the FP1, GMT94 driver finished FP2 in 5th position. He will be one of 10 qualified riders directly for the Q2 session that will determine Saturday’s starting grid.

Christophe Guyot: “The first free practice session (FP1) was excellent. Corentin has once again demonstrated that he learns quickly. Our plan was not to waste tires during this test session. It’s always frustrating for the rider to whom we did not give a new tire at the end of the session, which all competitors do. As a reminder, we have a total of 8 front tires and 10 rear tires for the tests, and the race. With only one set of tires, Corentin went on many laps. Beyond exceptional learning ability, he has especially progressed in the constancy of the lap times. We know the energy of our young rider at the beginning of practice and race, and the next step is to improve progressively. We are delighted with the work done for this first session. FP2 was successful thanks to excellent lap times. We finish in 5th position. The gaps remain very tight and nothing is played for the qualification. But it is yet his best performance after a FP2.“

Corentin Perolari: “The track is great. I gave everything today. I have to work to prepare the race and do everything to stay with the leading group until the end. My bike is perfect. I have total confidence in the front. It allows me to do what I want. I feel really good. FP3 has no stake (it’s the only real free practice session) and I’m going to concentrate on getting the race ready. Then I will give everything to make a good qualification. But it’s still tense because the competitors are really fast and I still have things to understand on this difficult path.”