The decision by Race Direction to declare the Czech Republic Moto3 race a wet one presented big choices for the participants. The 11am contest would be contested with some riders on slick tyres and others on wet, with the track drying out rapidly. One rider was sure about his strategy, and that was Jonas Folger. The German rider took the lea don lap four and decided to pull away from the rest of the field in search of victory. The championship leaders formed the chasing pack, as Salom, Cortese and Viñales settled their scores on the final lap. Folger took a dominant win, with Salom second and Cortese third on the podium.
If a rider is capable of finishing third alter starting from fifteenth, then what Could he do when starting from tenth? That question was answered by MAPFRE Aspar’s Jonas Folger, who took his second rostrum finish in as many weekends with a race victory. A great performance in the morning warmup hinted at what was to come, as when the lights went out in the race he surged through the field. Moving into the lead on lap four, he increased his advantage to over eleven seconds and then used his head to maintain a comfortable gap. From lap fifteen he went into maintenance mode for his second career win.
Also praiseworthy was the eleventh place taken by Héctor Faubel. The Spaniard lost positions off the line, but was obviously affected by his less-than-full fitness level alter his crash at Indianapolis. He will now focus on the upcoming San Marino GP, for which he hopes to be completely recovered.
1st Jonas Folger: “Today was the perfect race for us. I can sincerely say that I had never expected it to be so simple to gain such an advantage in such little time. I made a determined start and decided to push hard when I had moved into the lead. When I noticed that I was extending an advantage, I continued to push for another ten laps in order to create the largest gap possible. The aim was to create a cushion between myself and the other riders and then maintain it, which is what I did for the last seven laps. It was incredible to win this race and I am very happy. It is fantastic to be a part of this team, Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ gave me an opportunity and I am trying to repay his confidence in me the best way that I can. Jorge and MAPFRE have got behind me and really taken me to the next level. I have come into the team from a difficult situation, and now I can see that it was worth the suffering to be able to earn this opportunity that I have now.”
11th Héctor Faubel: “When I let off the clutch at the start, the bike began to slide. Once I’d got to the first corner I was swamped by other riders and found it hard to gain positions. After passing various riders I picked up a solid pace until I reached Cortese, Viñales and Salom. As the laps went by I began to notice a sharp pain in my back which distracted me. It was a pity to have missed out on a positive result because of not being 100% fit. I felt good this weekend and we had a good grid position, but in the race I was unable to perform as I would have liked. I feel bad, because the team have worked excellently this weekend and I wanted to thank them with a good result.”
Mapfre Aspar Press Release
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