Today's Moto2 race at the magnificent Mugello circuit in Italy had a disappointing outcome for the French-based Tech 3 Racing Team, with determined rides from Danny Kent and Louis Rossi not reflected in the final results.
A fast and aggressive start saw Kent gain three places on the opening lap, but the British rider was unable to sustain his impressive early charge and he ended the fifth round of the 2013 World Championship campaign in 22nd position.
Rossi's eagerness to make a flying start to launch an immediate attack on the top 20 resulted in a penalty for jumping the start. The ride through pit lane at the end of the fifth lap dropped the Frenchman to the back of the field.
With his chance of racing into the top 20 gone, Rossi rode a lonely race to 26th but he was able to gain more experience and collect precious data for the Tech 3 Racing Team to help with future developments on the Mistral 610 machine.
The Tech 3 Racing Team will remain at the Mugello track tomorrow for a one-day test session, where Kent and Rossi hope to make positive progress with the set-up of the Mistral 610 without the time constraints and pressure of a race weekend.
One of the items on an extensive testing schedule to assess is a new aerodynamics package, with the long Mugello start/finish straight the perfect place to evaluate it.
Danny Kent - 22nd :
"We knew it was going to be a hard race because all weekend I have been struggling to find a set-up that suits me. It was a tough job and I can't be satisfied at all. Now we need to start making some big changes to try and make some progress because we are not demonstrating the full potential of the Tech 3 Racing package at the moment. Tomorrow we have a test and hopefully we can find some improvements to help me take a step forward in the next races."
Louis Rossi - 26nd :
"I am very sad about this race. I jumped the start and I am very sorry to the Tech 3 Racing Team because it destroyed any chance I had of getting into a battle. It was my mistake and after the ride through it was very difficult to make virtually the whole race alone. I didn't give up and at least I had the opportunity to modify my riding style to try and learn some new things. I have lots of information, so now I will speak to my crew to see if we can make some improvements based on the data we collected today."
Herve Poncharal - Team Manager :
"We can't deny today was very disappointing for the Tech 3 Racing Team on a track where we know the Mistral 610 is capable of battling for the podium. In 2011 Bradley (Smith) was on the podium and last year fourth, and while I wasn't expecting Danny and Louis to replicate those results, I certainly anticipated them being more competitive. Both of them are doing their best and it was unfortunate that Louis jumped the start because that compromised his race immediately. We can't be happy to see both of them outside of the top 20 and tomorrow's test is going to be vital to see if we can make any progress. We are not showing the full potential of the Mistral 610 and hopefully tomorrow we can find a direction that is going to improve our situation for the next few races."
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