Calendar & Results
GP 3 : Portugal
Simón is 7th again and Rabat doesn’t finish the race
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALLY SEES MARC MÁRQUEZ’S DEBUT
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALLY SEES MARC MÁRQUEZ’S DEBUT
The Grand Prix held in Portugal in 2008 will go down in history for many reasons, but one of them will surely be the début of one of the greatest promises of Spanish motorbikes: Marc Márquez. The Haulotte rider, the youngest of the World Championship, was finally able to personally live the experience of being amongst the greatest. After missing out, due to an inconvenient injury, of the first two races of the year, in Qatar and Jerez, this rider from Cervera (Lleida) was able to début on Friday in Portugal during the first tests for the 125cc. Márquez shared this experience in the Repsol KTM box with his two team mates, who both had a complicated weekend. In 125cc, Tito Rabat had many problems with his KTM that finally ruined his Grand Prix. On the other hand Julito Simón had a good start for the first half of the race in 250, until the pains in his right forearm appeared once again, making him slow down his pace and left him with no options to reach the results that he expected. Even so, he was able to repeat in seventh place as in Jerez.
Damned forearm
Julito Simón arrived in Portugal after working at home with physiotherapists in order to try and work out his problems with his right forearm and was happy with the results. He was able to face this year’s third date with much more optimism.
“I started out with a lot of enthusiasm. It was the third race and I wanted to see our bike amongst the first positions. The circumstances weren’t great the first day, the track was humid. During the qualifying practice the thing got better, and I was able to make pretty good time. I felt my arm better compared to Jerez, but I knew we had to keep on working on it during the weekend with the circuit’s physiotherapists”. Simón started sixth the first day, but the second day, things got worse and he ended up in eleventh place at the starting grid. “It was a hard test. I fell twice in the morning, even though I was feel good vibes. But during the qualifying practice I didn’t make good time. Twice in a row I got a good scare with the qualification tyre, and in the end I was only able to be eleventh”. Simon’s race went from not good to better, but finally ended up going downhill. The reason: again his forearm. Julito got off with a bad start, but he managed to ride with the Swiss rider Luthi, that lead him up to the group that was fighting for fourth place. In the end the pain didn’t let him keep up with this pace and he had to conform with keeping the seventh position. “I held out all I could behind Luthi but when I was eight rounds away I had the same problem as in Qatar and Jerez. My forearm said ‘enough’. Even so, I am pleased because I was able to hold out more than in previous races, and I’ve got to thank my doctors for that. Evidently, seventh is not what I wanted, but I couldn’t do any more”. Simón is going to take advantage of the almost three weeks off before the Chinese Grand Prix to rest and improve his physical condition.
Márquez, like Pedrosa
All the attention in the Haulotte box in 125cc was without a doubt for Marc Márquez. There was a lot of curiosity in seeing him début, and the youngest World Championship rider did not disappoint the expectations. Although he had to work very hard previously. On Friday he started off with a fall, and was able to test the high level in the Championship first hand. “I tried to ride on my own in order to find my own pace and get familiar with the circuit. I’ve realised that here people go really quickly, that they give it all they have. With the rain I didn’t have that much time to tune my bike, although I had good vibes. I admit I was a little nervous at first, although once on the bike it was like a normal test”. From the thirtieth position he started off in, the first day, he went to twenty-sixth the second, working hard all day. But the best was to come. Márquez showed what he was worth during Sunday’s race, and getting over the KTM´s logical maladjustments to a new track, he was able to stay amongst the group with which he was riding and end in a well deserved eighteenth place. The same place that his admired Dani Pedrosa started out in, in 2001 in Suzuka. “My first race has been pretty tough, and it has helped me gain experience. We pushed our luck changing the bike’s set up, and in the end the suspension wasn’t working very well. But I had fun. I think that finishing eighteenth in my début is pretty good”.
I knew that there was something in the engine that wasn’t right
It was worse for Tito Rabat this weekend, who finished fifteenth in the first qualifying practice. On Saturday he lost three positions in the starting grid. “It didn’t go well. I changed my tyre during the qualifying practice to gain time but the bike slid too much. Although I don’t want this to seem like an excuse”. And on Sunday things got even worse for Tito. While he was warming up his bike before the start, he could hear a strange noise that made him fear the worst. “I knew that there was something in the engine that wasn’t right. The bike wasn’t running, and things got even worse. So much, that I had to go into the boxes and withdraw from the race. It has been a disastrous weekend and all I’ve got left is to think about China and that there everything will turn out better”. It is precisely in China where Rabat made his first podium in the World Championship.
After Estoril, The world Championship takes a rest until the second of May. The Haulotte riders will travel to China expecting to improve their results. Simón, having had time to recuperate physically; Márquez, enjoying his second race in the World Championship; and Rabat returning to the circuit where he achieved most success. The Chinese Grand Prix, in the Shanghai circuit, next stop in the World Championship.
Damned forearm
Julito Simón arrived in Portugal after working at home with physiotherapists in order to try and work out his problems with his right forearm and was happy with the results. He was able to face this year’s third date with much more optimism.“I started out with a lot of enthusiasm. It was the third race and I wanted to see our bike amongst the first positions. The circumstances weren’t great the first day, the track was humid. During the qualifying practice the thing got better, and I was able to make pretty good time. I felt my arm better compared to Jerez, but I knew we had to keep on working on it during the weekend with the circuit’s physiotherapists”. Simón started sixth the first day, but the second day, things got worse and he ended up in eleventh place at the starting grid. “It was a hard test. I fell twice in the morning, even though I was feel good vibes. But during the qualifying practice I didn’t make good time. Twice in a row I got a good scare with the qualification tyre, and in the end I was only able to be eleventh”. Simon’s race went from not good to better, but finally ended up going downhill. The reason: again his forearm. Julito got off with a bad start, but he managed to ride with the Swiss rider Luthi, that lead him up to the group that was fighting for fourth place. In the end the pain didn’t let him keep up with this pace and he had to conform with keeping the seventh position. “I held out all I could behind Luthi but when I was eight rounds away I had the same problem as in Qatar and Jerez. My forearm said ‘enough’. Even so, I am pleased because I was able to hold out more than in previous races, and I’ve got to thank my doctors for that. Evidently, seventh is not what I wanted, but I couldn’t do any more”. Simón is going to take advantage of the almost three weeks off before the Chinese Grand Prix to rest and improve his physical condition.
Márquez, like Pedrosa
All the attention in the Haulotte box in 125cc was without a doubt for Marc Márquez. There was a lot of curiosity in seeing him début, and the youngest World Championship rider did not disappoint the expectations. Although he had to work very hard previously. On Friday he started off with a fall, and was able to test the high level in the Championship first hand. “I tried to ride on my own in order to find my own pace and get familiar with the circuit. I’ve realised that here people go really quickly, that they give it all they have. With the rain I didn’t have that much time to tune my bike, although I had good vibes. I admit I was a little nervous at first, although once on the bike it was like a normal test”. From the thirtieth position he started off in, the first day, he went to twenty-sixth the second, working hard all day. But the best was to come. Márquez showed what he was worth during Sunday’s race, and getting over the KTM´s logical maladjustments to a new track, he was able to stay amongst the group with which he was riding and end in a well deserved eighteenth place. The same place that his admired Dani Pedrosa started out in, in 2001 in Suzuka. “My first race has been pretty tough, and it has helped me gain experience. We pushed our luck changing the bike’s set up, and in the end the suspension wasn’t working very well. But I had fun. I think that finishing eighteenth in my début is pretty good”.
I knew that there was something in the engine that wasn’t right
It was worse for Tito Rabat this weekend, who finished fifteenth in the first qualifying practice. On Saturday he lost three positions in the starting grid. “It didn’t go well. I changed my tyre during the qualifying practice to gain time but the bike slid too much. Although I don’t want this to seem like an excuse”. And on Sunday things got even worse for Tito. While he was warming up his bike before the start, he could hear a strange noise that made him fear the worst. “I knew that there was something in the engine that wasn’t right. The bike wasn’t running, and things got even worse. So much, that I had to go into the boxes and withdraw from the race. It has been a disastrous weekend and all I’ve got left is to think about China and that there everything will turn out better”. It is precisely in China where Rabat made his first podium in the World Championship.
After Estoril, The world Championship takes a rest until the second of May. The Haulotte riders will travel to China expecting to improve their results. Simón, having had time to recuperate physically; Márquez, enjoying his second race in the World Championship; and Rabat returning to the circuit where he achieved most success. The Chinese Grand Prix, in the Shanghai circuit, next stop in the World Championship.
