A worthy replacement for Romano Fenati – who moved to Moto2 – within the Marinelli Snipers Team, Tony Arbolino dazzled in Andalusia by breaking the old track record in 1'45.498 which belonged to Jorge Martin in 1'46.004 when he achieved pole position at the last Spanish Grand Prix.
Tony is not the most famous driver in the world, and a little introduction may not be superfluous. Born on August 3, 2000 in Garbagnate Milanese, Tony started racing minimotos at the age of 4. In 2009, he debuted in the Italian Championship and won the CIV Pre-Moto2014 category in 3 under the colors of the Moto Club Renzo Pasolini, within the Sic58 Squadra Corse on a Honda.
In this team created by the father of the late Marco Simoncelli, he competed in the FIM CEV Repsol 2015 and 2016, and finished his second season in ninth place. 2017 marks his arrival in the Moto3 World Championship and that of the SIC58 Squadra Corse. He scored two points by finishing 14th in Argentina, but it was much better in qualifying with fifth place on the grid in Germany (ahead of Fenati) and eighth in Assen. Tony Arbolino is the sole representative of the Marinelli Rivacold Snipers team in 2018 in Moto3, the team also fielding Roman Fenati in Moto2, which is a first for both the team and the driver.
In Jerez, during the first day of testing, Arbolino had already sounded the charge by setting the second time in 1'46.923, 0.066 behind. George Martin. He accelerated to 1'46.516 on the second day, in seventh place 0.886 behind Enea Bastianini. And it was on the third and final day that he established this superb record in 1'45.498.
Tony then explained to Jessica Cortellazzi Motograndprix.motorionline.com :
« I'm happy because, from the first day, the feeling was excellent and we worked hard on the bike.
“The pace was pretty good, considering I did 3 laps in 1'46.5 spinning absolutely on my own, but I knew I could still do better.
“I always felt comfortable with the chassis and I only put the soft tire at the end, managing to set a time that made me smile.
“I'm happy, I feel back at my level after last year's bad season.
“But I have to stay focused and keep working to improve because my opponents are really strong. »
Final ranking of the Jerez Moto3 tests:
1. Tony Arbolino (Honda) 1'45.498
2. Enea Bastianini (Honda), 0.132
3. Jorge Martin (Honda) +0.287
4. Dennis Foggia (KTM) +0.445
5. Niccolò Antonelli (Honda) +0.574
6. Philipp Öttl (KTM) +0.589
7. Marco Bezzecchi (KTM) +0.619
8. Aron Canet (Honda) +0.621
9. Nicolò Bulega (KTM) +0.635
10. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Honda) +0.673
11. Tatsuki Suzuki (Honda) +0,738
12. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM) +0,740
13. Andrea Migno (KTM) +0,765
14. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Honda) +0,775
15. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) +0,926
16. Jaume Masia (KTM) +0,933
17. Marcos Ramirez (KTM) +0.945
18. Livio Loi (KTM) +1.019
19. Alonso Lopez (Honda) +1.031
20. Makar Yurchenko (KTM) +1.202
21. Albert Arenas (KTM) +1.250
22. John McPhee (KTM) +1.355
23. Darryn Binder (KTM) +1.540
24. Kaito Toba (KTM) Honda) +1.637
25. Kazuki Masaki (KTM) +1.811
26. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (Honda) +1.882
Photos: A. Rivero for Circuito de Jerez / photo with Nicolo Bulega (2015) © Alessandro Alessandroni / photo from 2014 with Ferruccio Spreafico © Offlimits Racing School
