UNDERWHELMING RACE IN AUSTRIA
Manuel Gonzalez’s feeling with the bike was very good this weekend, and that boded well for his podium hopes despite his ninth position on the grid. The weather then shuffled the cards: temperatures were different and therefore track conditions, all of which affected his feeling. The rider #18 defended well his ninth position up to the last turn, but after a coming together with Roberts he was pushed off track and eventually crossed the line thirteenth.
A Sunday to quickly forget for Albert Arenas: the rider #75 lined up on row five ready for a comeback race, but he was involved in a collision at turn two which cost him plenty of positions. After a couple of laps, he managed to settle into a nice rhythm, which enabled him to make up several positions up to a seventeenth-place finish.
The QJMOTOR GRESINI Moto2 will now head to Misano for a two-day test in order to be as strong as possible at Aragon.
13th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18
“The race turned out to be more challenging than expected. I wasn’t able to overtake and put myself in the position I wanted on lap one, and then I struggled throughout the whole encounter as I didn’t have the same feeling as yesterday. Then at the last turn, Roberts pushed me off track without even hitting the brakes, and I almost crashed, which cost me further four positions. This race has been a learning curve, but also one to forget: it was also difficult due to my physical condition after yesterday’s crash. Now we need to get into test mode in order to further improve the bike set-up at Misano.”
17th – ALBERT ARENAS #75
“We just wrapped up what was a difficult weekend: I was involved in a collision at turn two and lost a few position. I was then able to push and found a nice rhythm, similar to the top ten riders, but we struggled in the early laps. We have been consistent throughout the whole race and gathered some important data, which we’ll be working on during the test. It was a tough weekend, but we’ll try to come back stronger as we’ll need to find something extra before the Asian trip.”
