Calendar & Results
GP 15 : Australia
Simón 4th, Rabat 7th and Márquez 9th
28 MILLISECONDS AWAY FROM GLORY
28 MILLISECONDS AWAY FROM GLORY
The next before last event of the Motorcycling World Championship for 2008 that was held this weekend in Australia, showed the better side of the Haulotte riders. Julito Simón held the same result he had in Japan, yet still closer to the podium, while the 125cc boys made up for their disappointment during the last GP, starring in a very fun race in which they both gave it all they had.
Too close...
With each race that passes, Julito Simón proves that, in the end, with hard work the results finally come. The 250cc Haulotte rider started off this weekend very well, on a Friday where the rain once again was present during the Championship. Although, Phillip Island received it’s guests with a first practice on a dry track that positioned Simón in fourth place very close to the fastest rider, giving in to an intense rain that affected the official’s result. In those conditions, Julito got good marks again, finishing in an exciting second place. “The conditions were hard. It was raining quite a bit, getting more and more intense. But we managed to get the bike set up the best we could and I quickly felt comfortable, this allowed me to always be amongst the first. With all the crashes that there were, I didn’t want to risk too much, and yet I was able to finish in the provisional first row. On dry, in the morning, I also rode well, so my objective on Saturday was to keep in the front positions”. Friday was the last day the riders saw rain. Simón had been working well all morning, but didn’t manage, by little, to get into the front row at the starting grid. Even so, his sixth position led him to feel optimistic about the race. “I knew we were doing a great job, even though it was a pity that during the official practice I wasn’t able to get into the front row. Anyway, I had a good pace and I was happy with the effort the team was making”. All the previous work gave it’s results on Sunday. Julito was seventh during the first lap, but later started to overtake until he got to the head. He was even at the lead of the race during the 12th lap taking advantage of a mistake that Bautista and Simoncelli made, although he soon lost against the power of the Aprilia. Simón ended up caught in an intense fight with his KTM colleague Mika Kallio, a fight that finally sided up with the Finn at the finishing line by 28 milliseconds. “The weekend was good in general terms. We were always at the front, so I’m happy. We have taken a great step forward in this end of season and we are going to work at our maximum to make a podium in Malaysia or Valencia. We got close here, but I came out of the last corner slower than in other corners and Kallio slipstreamed past me. I also made a mistake, because I didn’t go right in the finishing line straight, which is where I should have gone, and so he slipstreamed me even more easily. In any case I am pleased, and I will go to Malaysia very motivated”.
Rabat grows in confidence during the race
The meteorological complications on Friday didn’t help Tito Rabat to finds the best set up for his KTM, even though the Haulotte rider made use of all his talent during the timed race under water, classifying in a magnificent fifth position. “Throughout the morning things didn’t go very well, but during the timed practice things got better. It was the first time that I achieved such a good position on a wet track. I focused on riding as I always do, and the time came out. I hope to keep in that line. The truth is that I noticed that the bike was working really well, and I was at ease on this track that is my favourite of the whole World Championship”. Some technical problems complicated the official practice for Tito, who lost the privileged position he had the day before. He fell down to 18th position at the starting grid, complicating his expectations for the race. “It has been a hard day, since we had mechanical problems in the morning. This affected us in the afternoon, since we couldn’t ride too many laps to get the right set up. Once again I started off at the back, so I needed to make a good start in order to have options”. Right as the light went off, Rabat started off with his particular surmount. This let him to get into a group of five riders that were fighting for fifth place. Amongst them, Marc Márquez. A very entertaining fight that didn’t end until the finishing line and where Tito finished in a satisfactory seventh place. “It was a very fun race… I had a great time from start to finish. I was starting way behind but I began to overtake until I finished seventh. The bike’s set up was very good in the end, although the back tyre slid a lot, making it even more fun. I had to fight throughout the whole race, overtaking many. I want to thank the team for supporting me at all times”.
Marc, the fighter
In Phillip Island, Marc Márquez kept up with sequence that he usually goes through GP after GP. During the first day, with the nuisance of the rain and some other problems, it was time to familiarize himself with the circuit and work on finding the best set up possible for the KTM. “During the first practise, on the second lap, we had mechanical problems with the first bike. So then I went out with the second bike, but I couldn’t ride comfortably nor make good time. But it was useful to get to know the circuit. During the practice I was able to use the first bike again, but just as I was starting, I made a mistake and I crashed. I got back on the track with less confidence and slowly got it back, riding faster during the last rounds”. During the second day, taking advantage of the sun that reigned over the ´island´, Márquez improved his set up and managed to get into 12th position at the starting grid. “Things went better, since were able to ride all day on a dry track, allowing us to achieve a good set up for the bike. Anyway, we still had to improve some things for the race, although the result was pretty good. This is a very nice circuit, in which you are constantly using the accelerator, and I like that a lot”. On Sunday, once again we saw the fighter in Márquez. He started off, as usual, very well, and after a couple of testing rounds, he ended up in the same group that his colleague Tito was in. A full blown fight that he fished in ninth place after fighting for fifth up to the last meter. “It was a fun race, with a pretty big group that was playing very roughly. I was able to hold on at the back of the group, but riding into the finishing line I had a scare, I open up too much and I touched Corsi. I was on the track and he was riding on the kerb. The track was finishing for him and he kept on leaning towards me, so in order to protect myself, I pulled my elbow out a little trying to avoid him touching my brake’s lever. Luckily neither of us crashed, although I want to say I’m sorry. I am satisfied with what we have done in Australia and I can’t wait to reach Malaysia”.
The Sepang circuit will be the host for the before last race of this exciting 2008 World Championship. With the MotoGP and the 125cc titles already decided, all attention will be centred on the 250cc. And in watching how the Haulotte riders continue to grow.
Too close...
With each race that passes, Julito Simón proves that, in the end, with hard work the results finally come. The 250cc Haulotte rider started off this weekend very well, on a Friday where the rain once again was present during the Championship. Although, Phillip Island received it’s guests with a first practice on a dry track that positioned Simón in fourth place very close to the fastest rider, giving in to an intense rain that affected the official’s result. In those conditions, Julito got good marks again, finishing in an exciting second place. “The conditions were hard. It was raining quite a bit, getting more and more intense. But we managed to get the bike set up the best we could and I quickly felt comfortable, this allowed me to always be amongst the first. With all the crashes that there were, I didn’t want to risk too much, and yet I was able to finish in the provisional first row. On dry, in the morning, I also rode well, so my objective on Saturday was to keep in the front positions”. Friday was the last day the riders saw rain. Simón had been working well all morning, but didn’t manage, by little, to get into the front row at the starting grid. Even so, his sixth position led him to feel optimistic about the race. “I knew we were doing a great job, even though it was a pity that during the official practice I wasn’t able to get into the front row. Anyway, I had a good pace and I was happy with the effort the team was making”. All the previous work gave it’s results on Sunday. Julito was seventh during the first lap, but later started to overtake until he got to the head. He was even at the lead of the race during the 12th lap taking advantage of a mistake that Bautista and Simoncelli made, although he soon lost against the power of the Aprilia. Simón ended up caught in an intense fight with his KTM colleague Mika Kallio, a fight that finally sided up with the Finn at the finishing line by 28 milliseconds. “The weekend was good in general terms. We were always at the front, so I’m happy. We have taken a great step forward in this end of season and we are going to work at our maximum to make a podium in Malaysia or Valencia. We got close here, but I came out of the last corner slower than in other corners and Kallio slipstreamed past me. I also made a mistake, because I didn’t go right in the finishing line straight, which is where I should have gone, and so he slipstreamed me even more easily. In any case I am pleased, and I will go to Malaysia very motivated”.
Rabat grows in confidence during the race
The meteorological complications on Friday didn’t help Tito Rabat to finds the best set up for his KTM, even though the Haulotte rider made use of all his talent during the timed race under water, classifying in a magnificent fifth position. “Throughout the morning things didn’t go very well, but during the timed practice things got better. It was the first time that I achieved such a good position on a wet track. I focused on riding as I always do, and the time came out. I hope to keep in that line. The truth is that I noticed that the bike was working really well, and I was at ease on this track that is my favourite of the whole World Championship”. Some technical problems complicated the official practice for Tito, who lost the privileged position he had the day before. He fell down to 18th position at the starting grid, complicating his expectations for the race. “It has been a hard day, since we had mechanical problems in the morning. This affected us in the afternoon, since we couldn’t ride too many laps to get the right set up. Once again I started off at the back, so I needed to make a good start in order to have options”. Right as the light went off, Rabat started off with his particular surmount. This let him to get into a group of five riders that were fighting for fifth place. Amongst them, Marc Márquez. A very entertaining fight that didn’t end until the finishing line and where Tito finished in a satisfactory seventh place. “It was a very fun race… I had a great time from start to finish. I was starting way behind but I began to overtake until I finished seventh. The bike’s set up was very good in the end, although the back tyre slid a lot, making it even more fun. I had to fight throughout the whole race, overtaking many. I want to thank the team for supporting me at all times”.
Marc, the fighter
In Phillip Island, Marc Márquez kept up with sequence that he usually goes through GP after GP. During the first day, with the nuisance of the rain and some other problems, it was time to familiarize himself with the circuit and work on finding the best set up possible for the KTM. “During the first practise, on the second lap, we had mechanical problems with the first bike. So then I went out with the second bike, but I couldn’t ride comfortably nor make good time. But it was useful to get to know the circuit. During the practice I was able to use the first bike again, but just as I was starting, I made a mistake and I crashed. I got back on the track with less confidence and slowly got it back, riding faster during the last rounds”. During the second day, taking advantage of the sun that reigned over the ´island´, Márquez improved his set up and managed to get into 12th position at the starting grid. “Things went better, since were able to ride all day on a dry track, allowing us to achieve a good set up for the bike. Anyway, we still had to improve some things for the race, although the result was pretty good. This is a very nice circuit, in which you are constantly using the accelerator, and I like that a lot”. On Sunday, once again we saw the fighter in Márquez. He started off, as usual, very well, and after a couple of testing rounds, he ended up in the same group that his colleague Tito was in. A full blown fight that he fished in ninth place after fighting for fifth up to the last meter. “It was a fun race, with a pretty big group that was playing very roughly. I was able to hold on at the back of the group, but riding into the finishing line I had a scare, I open up too much and I touched Corsi. I was on the track and he was riding on the kerb. The track was finishing for him and he kept on leaning towards me, so in order to protect myself, I pulled my elbow out a little trying to avoid him touching my brake’s lever. Luckily neither of us crashed, although I want to say I’m sorry. I am satisfied with what we have done in Australia and I can’t wait to reach Malaysia”.
The Sepang circuit will be the host for the before last race of this exciting 2008 World Championship. With the MotoGP and the 125cc titles already decided, all attention will be centred on the 250cc. And in watching how the Haulotte riders continue to grow.
