Blowing apart the myth that times are going to be tight in Leogang this weekend, Aaron Gwin posted the fastest time by 2.2 seconds in qualifying.
Greg Minnaar was first down the hill and produced a scorcher of 3:12.519 and put seven seconds into his current title rivals Marcelo Gutierrez and Jack Moir – talk about making a statement.
Gwin was the first (and only) man to beat his time with a 3:10.271. We all know Gwin loves it here and it’s ominous that he’s on pace already. His run wasn’t perfect though and he was beaten in the first sector by Minnaar, Bruni, Thirion, Hart and others.
Qualifying was interrupted for half an hour by a red flag. We’re hearing that Thirion had a huge crash over the final jump and had to be heli lifted out – we hope he makes a quick recovery.
It meant re-runs for Brosnan, Bruni and Vergier though and they took full advantage and all slotted in behind Minnaar – third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Mick Hannah made it another great day for the family as he slotted in sixth. He was chased hard by three Brits in the form of Laurie Greenland, Bernard Kerr and Danny Hart. Luca Shaw rounded up the top 10 making it another great day for the Syndicate.
Results
- Aaron Gwin – 3:10.271
- Greg Minnaar – 3:12.519
- Troy Brosnan – 3:13.176
- Loic Bruni – 3:13.494
- Loris Vergier – 3:14.444
- Mick Hnanah – 3:15.429
- Laurie Greenland – 3:15.429
- Bernard Kerr – 3:15.861
- Danny Hart – 3:16.701
- Luca Shaw – 3:17.026
