John’s Blog: Qatar qualifying

It’s great to have my first ever top 10 start for the race tomorrow with a 7th place in qualifying.
My previous best qualifying position was 15th so we really have taken a step forward!

I tried a soft tyre to start with for slightly better grip but it was not as good as the medium so went back to that for rest of session.
I felt if I’d had a better group to run with for the last few laps I could have done even better, but that’s luck of the draw, and I still feel like I got a really decent result from the session.

The bike is feeling good and we are making next to no changes as the weekend goes on which means I am feeling more and more comfortable every session.
Tomorrow is going to be a tough race but I hope I can finish the weekend with a good result – I start behind Rins and Kornfeil on the third row of the grid.

For the race itself it will be good to have the chance to be up the front with the guys who can really race: My experience last year showed me that you can lose rhythm with the inexperienced riders around you who are unpredictable, and you can’t always be sure what they’ll do next.

Once again, thanks for all the fantastic support – it really means a great deal. I’ve been reading all the Facebook/Twitter messages but struggle to reply to them all!

Thanks,