Calendar & Results
GP 10 : Germany
Simón 5th, Rabat 9th and Márquez 10th
A GOOD WEEKEND FOR THE HAULOTTE RIDERS
A GOOD WEEKEND FOR THE HAULOTTE RIDERS
As in eight out of the nine GPs previously disputed, there was rain this weekend in the Sachsenring Circuit, determining the events of the races of the German GP. Besides for this inconvenience, the Haulotte riders gave good proof of their quality. Especially Julito Simón in 250 cc who on Sunday, after being one of the protagonists during the practices, enjoyed his best race so far this season, finishing fifth. In the 125 cc Tito Rabat and Marc Márquez were part a large group of up to nine riders involved in an intense fight for positions ranging from 9th to 17th. Rabat finished ninth and Márquez tenth.
Julio’s best side
Julito Simón knew that in Schsenring he was going to have a good chance. The Saxon path is usually a good scenario for KTM, something he was able to take advantage of, even if the rain on Sunday watered down his expectations. On Friday Simón was always ahead in the first positions of the classification chart, although during the practices, the intense traffic of the last minutes "only" allowed him to finish seventh. "It was a pretty positive day. I felt comfortable from the very beginning. The bike responded very well in this circuit. The pity is that during the last laps of the official there was so much traffic, because it is a small and narrow circuit, and I didn’t have enough room to finish a complete good round. But I was happy and was sure I could improve a lot." And he did. Julito gave a great step ahead on Saturday, positioning himself second at the starting grid, his best position since he competes in 250cc." I was happy, not only because of the position, but also because the weekend was turning out well. In every practice we were fighting to get into the first positions. The team was working well. What we wanted was to reach the podium, but also to finish the race and say that we had done a good job. I only hoped that the weather would be good on Sunday. And if it had to rain, it should really rain, but not something in between" On Sunday, on the one hand the bad expectations of rain were confirmed although, luckily, the track was completely wet. Simón was first at the start. After Marco Simoncelli, who ended up winning the race, overtook him, he stayed in the first group amongst Hector Barberá and Mika Kallio, and was later joined by Álvaro Bautista and Mattia Pasini. It was a tough fight that got more intense at the end because of the fast pace that Barberá imposed. Finally the Haulotte rider passed the finishing line fifth, but proving that he could fight with the best. "I started off well and I was convinced that the race could be a good one for me. I was first and Simoncelli very quickly took advantage of a mistake I made with the accelerator to overtake me. Then I had a great fight with Barberá and Kallio, with whom we set a good pace. But Kallio had some problem and brought his pace down, which helped Bautista and Pasini to catch up. Bautista overtook us and during the last rounds I was starting to have difficulties to keep up, since they were faster going past corners. It was difficult, I had a few scares and even if I tried, it was not possible. The objective was to achieve a podium, but it wasn’t meant to be. Even so I am very happy with the team’s performance."
A complicated race, a good result
At first, the rain laid off the 125cc riders on Sunday, although a slight drizzle complicated their work on the track. Tito Rabat had completed a good start of the GP, finishing on Friday in the second provisional row of the starting grid. “Schsenring is a circuit that requires a lot of concentration, with fast corners and others that are slow. I felt comfortable but it was necessary to continue working for Saturday. We could improve, especially, in the last part of the circuit.” On Saturday things got complicated for the Haulotte rider, who ended up losing positions for Sunday because of a problem with the his KTM’s clutch. “ It was a hard day with the rain in the morning. I had never ridden on this circuit with a wet track. We divided the qualifying practice in two parts and during my second start I had problems with my bike and wasn’t able to finish. I ended up with a strange feeling, with work yet to be done, but sure that on Sunday I would improve.” Rabat wasn’t able to have a good start of the race. He was losing positions, and also, was making mistakes that were complicating his options for the end of the race. But the Haulotte rider, proved his worth by imposing himself in a complicated group, managing to cross the finishing line ninth. “I didn’t have a very good start, and little after, going into a straight, I slipped up and various riders overtook me. I had to recover and it kept on going in the same way, because when I was again leading the group, I slipped up again in the same spot. I made many mistakes, so I spent the whole race trying to make up for them. On top of it, it started to rain a little and I was about to crash, but I was able to finish ninth. On the one hand I am happy, because it could have gone worse, but I can’t make so many mistakes and I must keep my concentration a little more.”
Another achievement for Márquez
Once again Marc Márquez was ready to discover a new circuit, and once again with the complication of not being able to carry out a constant performance due to the bad weather. “The first session was complicated, because there were some raindrops falling, but not enough to have to put the rain tyres on. Even if I couldn’t ride comfortably, I did it quite well. In the afternoon, both the bike and myself improved, but we still needed to get ahead on the bike’s set up, and also polish my own riding. In Sachsenring the first two partials are the most complicated parts, which is where you gain time. It’s a very technical part and it is pretty hard.” Márquez finished 25th, managing to improve his impressions on Saturday and his position at the starting grid. “ When I woke up in the morning it was raining, and the free practice was on wet ground. It was hard, but the track had a good grip, and I felt comfortable and was able to maintain a pretty good pace. I finished third, although the important part was in the afternoon. During the official the track was dry, but the bike still didn’t have right set up. It took us a while, but we were sure that on Sunday, either wet or dry, I could do a good race.” Just like his colleague Tito, Marc had a bad start and lost some positions during the first lap. Although, proving his worth, he was able to remount in three turns until he got into the group that was fighting for positions from nine to seventeen. A hard battle in company of Rabat, that the Haulotte rider finished in a very good tenth place. “ I didn’t´ start off very well, as the motor choked a little right at the beginning. After that I was able to remount a few positions and advance. I am happy with the final result, because in general in this circuit I had to make a bit of an effort for everything, because in the slow parts I didn’t have enough strength and they got ahead. Mid-race it started to drizzle and we brought the pace down a little, even though in the group I was in everyone was pressing hard. In the end, Tito overtook me, but I knew where to overtake him again. But three corners before that Iannone overtook me and I had nothing let to do but finish tenth.”
While Moto GP travels this week to California to dispute the United States GP, the 125 and 250 cc riders will take some well deserved holidays before confronting the final sprint of the Championship. The next race will be held the 17th of August in the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic.
Julio’s best side
Julito Simón knew that in Schsenring he was going to have a good chance. The Saxon path is usually a good scenario for KTM, something he was able to take advantage of, even if the rain on Sunday watered down his expectations. On Friday Simón was always ahead in the first positions of the classification chart, although during the practices, the intense traffic of the last minutes "only" allowed him to finish seventh. "It was a pretty positive day. I felt comfortable from the very beginning. The bike responded very well in this circuit. The pity is that during the last laps of the official there was so much traffic, because it is a small and narrow circuit, and I didn’t have enough room to finish a complete good round. But I was happy and was sure I could improve a lot." And he did. Julito gave a great step ahead on Saturday, positioning himself second at the starting grid, his best position since he competes in 250cc." I was happy, not only because of the position, but also because the weekend was turning out well. In every practice we were fighting to get into the first positions. The team was working well. What we wanted was to reach the podium, but also to finish the race and say that we had done a good job. I only hoped that the weather would be good on Sunday. And if it had to rain, it should really rain, but not something in between" On Sunday, on the one hand the bad expectations of rain were confirmed although, luckily, the track was completely wet. Simón was first at the start. After Marco Simoncelli, who ended up winning the race, overtook him, he stayed in the first group amongst Hector Barberá and Mika Kallio, and was later joined by Álvaro Bautista and Mattia Pasini. It was a tough fight that got more intense at the end because of the fast pace that Barberá imposed. Finally the Haulotte rider passed the finishing line fifth, but proving that he could fight with the best. "I started off well and I was convinced that the race could be a good one for me. I was first and Simoncelli very quickly took advantage of a mistake I made with the accelerator to overtake me. Then I had a great fight with Barberá and Kallio, with whom we set a good pace. But Kallio had some problem and brought his pace down, which helped Bautista and Pasini to catch up. Bautista overtook us and during the last rounds I was starting to have difficulties to keep up, since they were faster going past corners. It was difficult, I had a few scares and even if I tried, it was not possible. The objective was to achieve a podium, but it wasn’t meant to be. Even so I am very happy with the team’s performance."
A complicated race, a good result
At first, the rain laid off the 125cc riders on Sunday, although a slight drizzle complicated their work on the track. Tito Rabat had completed a good start of the GP, finishing on Friday in the second provisional row of the starting grid. “Schsenring is a circuit that requires a lot of concentration, with fast corners and others that are slow. I felt comfortable but it was necessary to continue working for Saturday. We could improve, especially, in the last part of the circuit.” On Saturday things got complicated for the Haulotte rider, who ended up losing positions for Sunday because of a problem with the his KTM’s clutch. “ It was a hard day with the rain in the morning. I had never ridden on this circuit with a wet track. We divided the qualifying practice in two parts and during my second start I had problems with my bike and wasn’t able to finish. I ended up with a strange feeling, with work yet to be done, but sure that on Sunday I would improve.” Rabat wasn’t able to have a good start of the race. He was losing positions, and also, was making mistakes that were complicating his options for the end of the race. But the Haulotte rider, proved his worth by imposing himself in a complicated group, managing to cross the finishing line ninth. “I didn’t have a very good start, and little after, going into a straight, I slipped up and various riders overtook me. I had to recover and it kept on going in the same way, because when I was again leading the group, I slipped up again in the same spot. I made many mistakes, so I spent the whole race trying to make up for them. On top of it, it started to rain a little and I was about to crash, but I was able to finish ninth. On the one hand I am happy, because it could have gone worse, but I can’t make so many mistakes and I must keep my concentration a little more.”
Another achievement for Márquez
Once again Marc Márquez was ready to discover a new circuit, and once again with the complication of not being able to carry out a constant performance due to the bad weather. “The first session was complicated, because there were some raindrops falling, but not enough to have to put the rain tyres on. Even if I couldn’t ride comfortably, I did it quite well. In the afternoon, both the bike and myself improved, but we still needed to get ahead on the bike’s set up, and also polish my own riding. In Sachsenring the first two partials are the most complicated parts, which is where you gain time. It’s a very technical part and it is pretty hard.” Márquez finished 25th, managing to improve his impressions on Saturday and his position at the starting grid. “ When I woke up in the morning it was raining, and the free practice was on wet ground. It was hard, but the track had a good grip, and I felt comfortable and was able to maintain a pretty good pace. I finished third, although the important part was in the afternoon. During the official the track was dry, but the bike still didn’t have right set up. It took us a while, but we were sure that on Sunday, either wet or dry, I could do a good race.” Just like his colleague Tito, Marc had a bad start and lost some positions during the first lap. Although, proving his worth, he was able to remount in three turns until he got into the group that was fighting for positions from nine to seventeen. A hard battle in company of Rabat, that the Haulotte rider finished in a very good tenth place. “ I didn’t´ start off very well, as the motor choked a little right at the beginning. After that I was able to remount a few positions and advance. I am happy with the final result, because in general in this circuit I had to make a bit of an effort for everything, because in the slow parts I didn’t have enough strength and they got ahead. Mid-race it started to drizzle and we brought the pace down a little, even though in the group I was in everyone was pressing hard. In the end, Tito overtook me, but I knew where to overtake him again. But three corners before that Iannone overtook me and I had nothing let to do but finish tenth.”
While Moto GP travels this week to California to dispute the United States GP, the 125 and 250 cc riders will take some well deserved holidays before confronting the final sprint of the Championship. The next race will be held the 17th of August in the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic.
