Determined Schrotter battles demanding Czech Grand Prix
Tech3 Racing Team rider Marcel Schrotter fought relentlessly and produced a solid effort at the challenging bwin Grand Prix Ceske Republiky to finish in 19th. The young German rider, who celebrated his 100th Grand Prix race today, began the 11th round of the Moto2 World Championship from 21st on the grid. When the lights flicked off, he leapt forward aboard the Mistral 610 and started his Brno fight. By the close of the first lap, Schrotter had slipped down to 24th, yet he persevered and lunged past two riders on the third lap moving him up to 22nd. The race distance continued to count down and at the midpoint he was running in 21st and rose up one position on lap thirteen after setting a series of consistent times. Then, a short distance later, he moved past Randy Krummenacher to seize 19th and from here he continued his pace before crossing the line in this placement, closing a tricky weekend aboard the Mistral 610.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the Tech3 Racing Team garage, Xavi Vierge suffered bad luck in his second Moto2 World Championship race despite his best efforts as he failed to see the finish flag due to a rear puncture. The 18 year old sprinted off the grid at the start of the 20 lap race and overtook four riders to finish the first lap in 26th position. After that he stuck into his rhythm as he was closing in on the group in front. At half race distance, Vierge was running in a pack of five riders and making steps forward. He continued his pace, yet with four laps remaining, the Spaniard had the puncture which forced him to enter the pits and retire. Nevertheless, he will seek to bounce back at the British Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.
Marcel Schrotter – Position : 19th – Championship : 21 – Points : 14
“Overall, there are some positives to take home from this race, even though it was another tough weekend but we gave our absolute all like we always do. We are still having some issues with the bike and at the moment we are not finding the solutions straight away. Last year we were able to adapt to these difficulties and get around them, however this season we are struggling as the tyres have changed a bit and the level seems to be higher. It’s tricky for us, but fortunately here we managed to improve the bike in every session so we must keep plugging away in the future. The race itself was not too bad even though the position is not where I want to be or could be. When it started, the first few laps were a bit challenging, yet I had a good pace and in the end, my lap times were not too far off the top ten. Therefore, this is a big encouragement and we hope to pick up some more positives at the next race in Great Britain.”
Xavi Vierge – Position : DNF – Championship : Not Classified
“I am happy with how the race panned out although of course, I can’t be pleased with the end result. The whole weekend was demanding for me, but the team and I worked really hard and we managed to improve every session. My goal for the race was to stay in front of Edgar Pons, Cardus, so around 23rd position and it was possible for me to continue fighting there. However, I passed Shah four laps before the end of the race and he touched me which cracked the rear wheel on my bike and caused a puncture. It’s a big pity because we put all of that great work in for nothing. Having said that, we have made some good steps forward here and in two weeks we will race in Silverstone where I am certain we will be stronger. Thank you to the team for the their amazing effort and also to my sponsors.”
Hervé Poncharal : Team Manager
“It was a bit of a disappointing end to the weekend for the Tech3 Racing Moto2 Team after the great endeavours by the guys. Everyone came here confident as Marcel scored some points in Indy in what was quite a strong race plus Xavi was entering his second GP and knew the team as well as the bike a bit better. Practice went reasonably ok and we were optimistic of another encouraging finish for Marcel and for Xavi, we were sure there would be an improvement from the last race. Marcel did his absolute best, but it was unfortunately not enough to be in the points and on the other hand, I am really frustrated and sorry for Xavi. He was following the plan exactly as he should have and we were very happy with his progress. Yet, four laps from the end, he had to retire due to a flat tyre and now we have to investigate to find out what happened. The silver lining to the cloud is that fortunately it was towards the end of the GP, so he now has almost a whole race’s worth of experience and we are pleased with his attitude. Now, lets see what we can do at Silverstone, which holds fond memories for us from 2011 where Bradley Smith had an incredible race from 20th on the grid, up to 2nd aboard the Mistral. It will inspire us to have a good time there this year and we hope to make a step forward.”