Today saw the first ever Moto3 race at the Circuit of the Americas, and it was split into two parts thanks to a red flag. An interval was called with 8 laps to go, due to a crash by Jasper Iwema. The first part of the race had seen few surprises, with Rins, Salom and Viñales at the front from the first row of the grid. The trio had been fastest in practice and in the race, but the stoppage caused the field to bunch up again. In a five-lap shootout, Salom and Rins fought for the win, whilst Viñales and Folger were slightly further back. In the end, Rins took the victory after a thrilling final lap, whilst Viñales and Salom completed a second all-Spanish podium of the Moto3 season.
It is no secret that MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger had esperienced a tough weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, but despite this he was still able to put in a great performance. Yesterday he managed to qualify fifth, overcoming a lack of confidence with the front end. Today in the first part of the race he rode solo in fourth place. He was able to improve his front end issue in the break and was ready to consolidate fourth position when the Moto3 field set off again. The German rider was just one place off a podium finish, again taking valuable points for his World Championship tally.
Teammate Eric Granado also had some fortune with the appearance of the red flag. The Brazilian had started poorly in the first part of the race, but found a good pace early on after the restart. His day was soured by a crash on the final corner of the race, which dropped him from a fight for points to 23rd place.
4th Jonas Folger:
"During the weekend we found it quite hard to adapt to the Circuit of the Americas. Despite this, we never stopped fighting in any of the practice sessions –nor in the race today. I have to admit that the break in the race benefitted us, because it allowed me to give some useful information to my team to make chances. With that, we took a step forward. In the end I finished fourth, and it was a shame I could not fight for the podium. We must be satisfied that we again took a lot of points, despite our problems. At the end of the weekend we improved our performance. I tried to give my best in both of the two parts, but perhaps in the second part I made a few mistakes when trying to stop the group from breaking away. That meant I couldn’t stick with Viñales until the final lap. Obviously we would have liked to have fought for the podium, but in Jerez I am sure that we will have a better weekend.”
"During the weekend we found it quite hard to adapt to the Circuit of the Americas. Despite this, we never stopped fighting in any of the practice sessions –nor in the race today. I have to admit that the break in the race benefitted us, because it allowed me to give some useful information to my team to make chances. With that, we took a step forward. In the end I finished fourth, and it was a shame I could not fight for the podium. We must be satisfied that we again took a lot of points, despite our problems. At the end of the weekend we improved our performance. I tried to give my best in both of the two parts, but perhaps in the second part I made a few mistakes when trying to stop the group from breaking away. That meant I couldn’t stick with Viñales until the final lap. Obviously we would have liked to have fought for the podium, but in Jerez I am sure that we will have a better weekend.”
23rd Eric Granado:
“The first part of the race was difficult for me, mainly because I started badly. When I saw the red flag I felt fortunate, because it gave me a second chance. I started the second race with good pace and got up to sixteenth position. On the last lap, a rider went off track and then I clipped him as he came back on. That ran me onto the dirty part of the asphalt. I knew that my tyre rubber was dirty on the way onto the home straight, so I tried to brake as little as possible. Nonetheless, I still lost the front. It is a shame, because I think that I could have taken points today. After this performance I have to think positive and believe that the next race in Jerez will see us finish higher up. Despite the crash, I am satisfied that we improved our times.”
“The first part of the race was difficult for me, mainly because I started badly. When I saw the red flag I felt fortunate, because it gave me a second chance. I started the second race with good pace and got up to sixteenth position. On the last lap, a rider went off track and then I clipped him as he came back on. That ran me onto the dirty part of the asphalt. I knew that my tyre rubber was dirty on the way onto the home straight, so I tried to brake as little as possible. Nonetheless, I still lost the front. It is a shame, because I think that I could have taken points today. After this performance I have to think positive and believe that the next race in Jerez will see us finish higher up. Despite the crash, I am satisfied that we improved our times.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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