Tech3 Racing Team rider Marcel Schrotter delivered a truly determined performance today in the 14thround of the 2015 Moto2 World Championship as he sealed a point scoring finish in 15thplace. Schrotter began his day optimistically by completing the morning warm up session in 14thposition, after making some final adjustments to his Mistral 610. Once the race kicked into gear, the young German leapt forward from 21ston the grid and was running in 15thafter overtaking five riders by the end of the first lap. He then set about trying to progress further up the field, however, the race was interrupted due an incident on the track which caused a red flag to be shown on the second lap. The Grand Prix was later restarted with 14 laps to run and when this occurred, Schrotter lunged forward and completed the first one in 18th. As the race advanced, the young German stuck into his pace and by the 5thlap he was leading the pack of four, in 16thplace. With 7 laps remaining, the 21 year old had pushed himself up to the final point scoring position as he continued his strong rhythm which saw him open up a gap to the pack behind. Schrotter finally sped across the finish line in the same place, which marks a positive end to this weekend ahead of the three upcoming overseas races.
On the other side of the Tech3 Racing Team pit box, Xavi Vierge produced a fully determined effort to battle his way to 16thby the fall of the chequered flag after overtaking eleven riders in the fiercely competitive intermediate class. The 18 year old began the race from 27th on the grid and when the lights went out, he got straight into gear as he moved through the pack and up to 18thby the mid point of the second lap. At the restart, the Moto2 class rookie once again commenced from his qualifying position but he dug deep and was up to 23rdat the end of the opening lap. His ascent continued in the shortened battle and with nine laps to go, he moved past Louis Rossi and into 19thas he closed in on the group ahead, which included his teammate. On the 10thlap, Vierge skilfully overtook Krummenacher to clinch 17thand he grit his teeth as he continued to plug the gap to the next rider. Then, on the penultimate lap, Vierge was involved in a fierce three way fight which came down to the very last corner on the final lap, where the young Spaniard excellently passed the rider in front to seal 16th.
Marcel Schrotter – Position : 15th – Championship : 21st – Points : 20
“After what was a crazy race, I am happy to be heading home with a point scoring finish. So many things happened, for example the red flag and the restart, and fortunately both times we began, I had good starts and recovered several places. It goes without saying that it’s always hard coming from the lower half of the grid, because even if you improve, so many people are fighting and automatically you get held off in the first corners. In addition, it’s very easy to lose the contact to the front group, which is what happened to me in the second race. Someone hit me in the downhill chicane and to be honest, I was lucky to not crash as it was a big moment. As a result, I had to go wide which made me lose the front group. From there onwards, I did the race on my own and I rode similar lap times to the whole group in front, give or take one tenth. Still, we have to be pleased as I took points and tried my best which gives me some confidence before we head to the three fly away races. We will leave Europe with some fond memories as we had three strong GP’s in the east last year, so therefore my feeling is positive.”
Xavi Vierge – Position : 16th – – Championship : Not Classified
“I am very happy with the race result today and it’s a satisfying close to the weekend for me. We started the event well but I knew that I had to make some steps forward with my riding style as well as with my rhythm in order to be strong in the GP today. Things worked out pretty well and finally my race pace was solid. I began quite far down the grid, in 27th, still I had a good start and then lap by lap I progressed forwards. I finally caught and passed Cardus and Krummenacher to seize 16th on the last lap. In all honesty, it’s a pity to be just outside of the points and maybe it is a little bit like finishing in 4th as the podium is just out of reach! Nevertheless, I am very happy with how the weekend progressed and now my ambition is to continue in this manner for the next races. We have a good direction and the work this weekend makes me excited about next year already as I’ve just signed the contract with Tech3. I must say thank you very much to the team for the perfect job they did and also thanks to the sponsors.”
Hervé Poncharal – Team Manager :
“The result today was a solid close to the weekend for the Moto2 Tech3 Racing Team. It was not easy for Xavi as it was his first time on known territory in the world championship but he didn’t disappoint us and was really quick on day one. He then had a bit of pressure for qualifying and we could have done better, yet we knew he had the pace. Marcel showed everyone, as usual, that he will never give up and pushed right until the end. It’s clear to see that the race was tough, partly because after the restart there were just 14 laps which meant it was more of a sprint. However, we are pleased to see Marcel scoring points again which is good news. In addition, it was thrilling to see Xavi finish in 16th and he had an incredible fight with Krummenacher and Cardus who are both very experienced Moto2 riders and he beat them both on the last lap. He recovered 11 places from his grid position which was quite an achievement and we would have loved for him to score points with Marcel, but 16th is a great result. We must remember that we are here to learn with him for the future and he is giving us a lot of satisfaction so far. Hopefully, both Xavi and Marcel will be in the points in Motegi, but it’s been a positive weekend here.”