SALAČ WRAPS UP JAPANESE GP WITH TOP-5 RESULT
Filip Salač finished today’s Moto2 race at Motegi in fifth place, a top-five result that had been missing for months (since the podium finish at Le Mans) – which gives fresh confidence for what is a demanding final leg of the season.
It was not all good news for the #12, who could have finished even higher today had it not been for some pain in his right forearm (arm pump) that could play a big role in the racing weekend-management.
It had to be a comeback race for Jeremy Alcoba, and indeed it was, as the Spaniard went from 23rd on the grid to 16th at the finish line, very close to the points courtesy to a good race pace – which bodes well for the upcoming three back-to-back events in Indonesia, Australia and Thailand.
5th – FILIP SALAC #12 (7º in the standings with 108 points)
“It was an excellent race despite a not-so-great start. I had lost three places by turn one… We had the pace of the leaders in the early laps without pushing at the limit and that’s when I thought about the podium. The bike was perfect, but then my performance was affected by my right forearm as the arm pump prevented me from being as fast as I’d wished. It’s a shame because the bike was worthy of a win.”
16th – JEREMY ALCOBA #52 (17th in the standings with 33 points)
“We’re wrapping up a quite difficult weekend. The race pace wasn’t too bad. I couldn’t push at the limit at the beginning because I was struggling to overtake those in front of me. I was consistently quick then as soon as I had clear track ahead. It’s clear that starting from so far back doesn’t help, so we’ll try to be competitive from FP1 at the next races.”
