Aspar Mahindra riders to start the first race of the year from the fourth and fifth rows

Pecco Bagnaia, 12th, and Jorge Martin, 14th, ready to fight in the lead group tomorrow, but looking for slipstreams to push to the end

Having seen the pace of the Moto3 riders throughout the weekend it seemed likely that many of them would hit the 2’05 mark in the first QP of the year today, but ultimately none of them were able to go under 2’06. This was mainly due to a strong wind which affected the riding this afternoon at the Losail circuit. Navarro, Quartararo and Loi battled for the pole, but in the end Fenati surprised everyone at the death and will therefore start the first race of the 2016 on pole. The top 19 riders were split by less than a second, so a tight race can be expected tomorrow and there are many contenders for the first victory of 2016. 
The Mahindra Aspar riders have been doing a great job throughout the weekend in Losail and today their work finally paid off. The two riders representing the Valencian team are up amongst the top 19 riders, separated by less than a second on the timesheet. Pecco Bagnaia tested a new fairing on Thursday and today was able to use it again. The Italian, who ultimately concluded 12^th, six tenths off pole, noticed a dramatic improvement in the performance of his bike and is determined to fight tomorrow in the front group. Jorge Martin concluded two positions and two tenths behind his teammate. The Spaniard lapped alone for most of the session and was unable to find the crucial slipstream to gain an extra tenth of a second. Jorge learned that lesson and tomorrow will push for a slipstream to aim for a top ten spot in the race. 
12^th Pecco Bagnaia 2’06.733 (11 laps): "This first qualifying session of 2016 was quite difficult because of the wind. Anyway, with the new fairing we took a big step forward and now the bike helps me a lot on cornering and to maintain the optimal line. Having worked all winter with a fairing, we have now had to change the trajectory of work, to adapt to the new fairing. During the session we improved our setup a lot. On the last lap we were improving a lot, but I almost crashed. Luckily I managed to keep the bike upright and I still managed to gain a few tenths. Tomorrow, during the warm-up session, we will take the opportunity to perform one last test. The race will definitely be contested in a group and from my point of view I’m ready for action."
14^th Jorge Martín 2’06.931 (14 laps): "The weekend overall has been going well, and I wanted to achieve a good result in qualifying. I tried to push a lot and on one lap I was doing a lot better, but I was alone, so on the straight I lost almost six tenths. In general it was almost perfect but I just couldn’t finish it off. The important thing is that I have good race pace for tomorrow and I’m sure that using the slipstream I can be in the leading group. The lap times are very tight so we will start tomorrow and give it full gas when the race starts. I think I can fight for the top ten, that's my goal. Anyway I’m sure it will be a tough race and there will be a lot of battles. Overall I'm happy with our work, I hope that tomorrow we can finish the weekend with a good result."