Seventh possible in qualifying, rues Mahindra's Dalla Porta

Dalla Porta showed promising pace at his home turf on Friday, setting the seventh fastest time in the first two practice sessions.

The CEV Moto3 champion ran in the top 10 for much of the second half of qualifying, but was eventually shuffled down to 19th as others made strides on their final flyers.

But the Italian feels his qualifying position is not representative of his true pace and backed his claim by pinpointing his individual sector times.

“It was a difficult day, yesterday was much better, ” Dalla Porta admitted. “In the end, all I can say is that we were strong, but we did not get a complete lap that would put us higher up.

“My ideal time, adding my best sectors together, would put me in seventh position. I feel bad about not getting the result I wanted, but I hope I can have a good race. The chassis will help us."

Much like Dalla Porta, teammate Arenas couldn’t hook a clean lap in qualifying, consigning him to 19th on the grid.

“It's a shame because we did not get a perfect lap, but we have some leeway in terms of lap times,” he said.

“I felt good and aggressive in qualifying, but we will start a little far back I'm sure it will be a race run in a group. It will be my first time here, so I'll try to adapt to the maximum and complete a good race."

Troubles for factory-supported Aspar riders allowed customer outfit CIP to lead the charge for Mahindra, with Manuel Pagliani qualifying one place ahead of the duo in 17th place.