Pramac Ducati took a step backwards in qualifying at Motegi as Aleix Espargaro and Mika Kallio took 13th and 16th position respectively.

The earlier morning practice session gave signs of hope for the Pramac team as Espargaro was pushing close to the Top 10, but a loss of feeling with the bike caused both riders to drop to the back of the grid in qualifying.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director
“Instead of Aragon’s track, where all the Ducati where very fast, on this track only Stoner was able to rest among the best riders. Usually Ducati are most efficient when they use hard tyres in contrast to other teams have a better performance with soft tyres. On Motegi track it was not like this because the others riders were significantly faster with soft tyres. This should not be an excuse for us but a good motivation to find suitable solutions for tomorrow. ”

Aleix Espargarò – 13th fastest time in 1’48 .371
“We tried it. This morning the situation was acceptable, but this afternoon when the session was really important, we cannot improve the lap time as we expected. It’s a pity. I prefer tracks with fast corners and not with hard braking and acceleration, as here, but I still hope to be able to get a good start tomorrow and try to stay with the fastest riders and win as many points as possible for the riders and Teams standings. ”

Mika Kallio – 16th fastest time in 1’49 .480
“Just cannot find the feeling with the bike. I cannot get the right confidence to push hard, as I always do. Being in the last position with a gap of nearly a second from the rider ahead of me is really frustrating. I’m sorry also for the guys of my Team who work with so much passion and dedication. I do not think to be a last position rider and tomorrow I will try to prove it for all my technical staff. ”

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