Colombian rider David Alonso has started his penultimate stop on the Moto2 calendar, the Portuguese Grand Prix.
This with a day of ups and downs that, however, assured him a direct pass to the crucial Qualy2.
After an outstanding second place in Malaysia, Alonso, in his debut season, took on the challenging Portuguese circuit on Friday, November 7, showing notable progression from morning to afternoon.
The activity for the Aspar Team driver began with the first free practice session, where Alonso placed 15th with a time of $01:42.215$.
However, the afternoon brought with it better feelings, probably thanks to his previous experience in the preseason tests in Portimão.
Alonso went from less to more, significantly improving his performance and climbing positions in the time table of the day.
The moment of greatest tension occurred with two minutes remaining in the afternoon session: the Colombian suffered a fall just when he was in seventh position.
Despite the mishap—and the fact that his teammate, Holgado, fell at the same point—Alonso was able to maintain his record, closing the day with a time of $1:41.793$.
Alonso advances to Q2 in Portugal despite a crash at the end of the Moto2 season
This performance was enough to secure a place among those directly qualified for the next phase.
The pilot himself downplayed the incident at the end of the day. “I’m fine, although it was a quick fall and my arm was a little sore,” commented Alonso, adding that the track is “fun, but it changes a lot compared to Moto3.”
His record in seventh position gives him a direct place to compete in Qualy2 this Saturday, where he will compete for one of the best starting places for the main race that will be held on Sunday.
As he prepares for qualifying, Alonso remains in a solid eighth position in the overall championship standings with 137 points.
The leadership of the category is held by the Brazilian Diogo Moreira with 256 points, followed by the Spanish Manuel González with 247 and Barry Baltus with 221.
The Portuguese GP represents the penultimate opportunity for Alonso to score points and consolidate his great performance in his first Moto2 season.
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