The first Qualifying session for the 18th season of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup provided speed and surprise.

Brian Uriarte seemed certain to make his Rookie debut from pole having set the fastest ever Rookies Cup time around Jerez.

On the timing screen, no one looked like bettering him on the final lap. Then a red helmet flashed up next to KTM #28 and Màximo Quiles had done it with a stunning final sector!

Màximo Quiles grabs it
“It was really tricky to do that,” beamed the 16-year-old Spaniard starting his 3rd Rookies Cup season. “It only happened in the last lap and finally I was a little bit lucky because there was someone ahead who I could chase after and catch just at the right time, at the end of the lap.”

“At the the beginning of the session I wanted to ride on my own to find the right rhythm, I did that but I needed a bit extra to get the pole and that is what I found on the last lap.”

“The bike is good, I will change nothing for the race, not perfect but I am ready to race.”

Brian Uriarte improving
“I’m very happy with that,” explained the Spanish 15-year-old. “I was confident that I could do a good time but I knew that there were some things I needed to work on. I know that my weak point is getting the bike turned in the middle of the corner and I particularly feel that through the double right of Peluqui that leads to the last fast right-handers at the end of the lap. I really worked on that and found some speed.”

“Towards the end of the session the rear was moving around quite a bit but I think that is the same for everyone. I love this track I have done a lot of laps here and I feel ready for the race.”

Hakim Danish at his best
“I’m happy to be in the front row for the very first time,” grinned the 16-year-old Malaysian who starts his 2nd Cup season. “The bike is very good, I like the way it feels and it gives me confidence. It really makes me feel that I can go out and have a good race.”

“I want to start the year with a good race, to battle with the other riders at the front.”

Veda Pratama confident
“I really enjoyed that,” stated the 15-year-old Indonesian quietly after recording the 4th best time in his Rookies debut. “The test here gave me a lot of confidence and I wanted to do well. I expected that I could and I really enjoyed today.”

“The bike is good but I think perhaps we can still improve it for the race so I am going to talk to the technical staff and see if we should try something more. We will see.”

“I am very much looking forward to tomorrow and my first Rookies Cup race.”

Marco Morelli still wants more
“I’m happy for sure, compared to last year I think I made a good step,” stated the Argentinian 16-year-old starting year 2 in the Cup. “I think I was P18 at the beginning of last year, so that’s a lot better. It’s a good step forward but of course, always I want more.”

“The bike set-up is good and I am looking forward to the race. The Quali was a bit difficult because it was windy, I was in a group but finally, I managed P5 and I am happy with that and I want more tomorrow.”

Kristian Daniel Jr. feeling good
“I’m super happy with that,” enthused the 15-year-old American who qualified 8th. “Happy to have made a good job of my first Rookies Cup Quali. I had super good feelings through that session, we improved a lot.”

“I have to do a little bit better at making sure I can situate myself better so that I am not following so many people. But I did manage to put in a good lap and that is what I needed to do.”

“I came into the test without doing a lot of running on big tracks through the off-season. That improved through the test and with my racing last weekend so I was a lot more confident coming here.”

“I had a good feeling with the bike through all three sessions today and we kept improving so that’s great.”
Broadcast

This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.

Race 1 is at 16:15 CET on Saturday and Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:45, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
For more info checkout our dedicated Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup News page Rookies Cup News

Or visit the official Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup website rookiescup.redbull.com/