A determined ride to 12th position in today’s Czech Republic Moto2 race ensured Tech 3 Racing Team rider Danny Kent heads to his crucial home round at Silverstone with confidence high after a big breakthrough weekend in Brno.
Kent secured his second points scoring finish in the ultra-competitive Moto2 category to complete a hugely encouraging weekend in which he claimed a career best qualifying and race result on the French designed and built Mistral 610 machine.
Starting from 12th on the grid after his 2.02.956 in qualifying was the fastest ever lap recorded by the Mistral 610 at Brno, Kent immediately gained one place in a short drag race to the first corner. But in a typically frantic opening lap he slipped down the order to 16th.
In the coolest conditions of the weekend so far, with temperatures only creeping up to 16 degrees, Kent was able to quickly move back into the top 15. He then maintained an impressive rhythm that enabled him to fight his way back into 12th position, which is one place higher than his previous best result in Catalunya.
The most satisfying aspect of his performance was his pace and consistency over the 20-lap race distance. Kent has been working incredibly hard to improve his speed on worn tyres and he reaped the rewards today, with his pace throughout comparable to those battling for the podium.
He set his best lap of the race of 2.03.308 on lap 14 to finish just 12.4s behind race winner Mika Kallio. Kent is now excited to build on the momentum gained today when he races in front of his home crowd at Silverstone, where is confident he can challenge for a maiden top 10 in Moto2.
Today’s race was a difficult battle for Louis Rossi, who started down in 28th place on the grid. Despite the tireless efforts of his Tech 3 Racing crew, Rossi has never been comfortable enough to demonstrate his true potential on the fast and undulating Brno track, though he did recover to 20th position.
Today’s race was another valuable data gathering exercise for Rossi and his Tech 3 Racing crew and he is hoping to be back challenging for the top 15 again in the forthcoming British Grand Prix.
Danny Kent 12th – 7 points :
“I am really happy with how this weekend went and obviously it feels like we’ve taken a big step. The important thing was to bounce back quickly from the disappointment of Indianapolis and we managed that. To get my best ever qualifying and race result shows we are making progress with the Mistral 610. I got a decent start but unfortunately in the early laps I got a bit beaten up and that ruined my chance of being in the top 10. I definitely had the pace to be up there and that’s what I’m most pleased about. My times were fast, really consistent and as good as those running inside the top six. I had a good pace all weekend and the team worked really hard to give me a good package and now I can look forward to Silverstone with a lot of confidence. This weekend was just what I needed to get some momentum heading to my home race and hopefully in front of the British fans I will be able to break into the top 10.”
Louis Rossi 20th – 4 points :
“I gave 100% and did my absolute best today but clearly it has been a very tough weekend. I felt my pace was strong in the first part of the race but I missed some chances to pass and go with the group in front. We have to learn about what’s happened this weekend and try and be more competitive at Silverstone. We will continue working hard and hopefully I will have a better feeling on the bike next weekend to help me get back into the top 15.”
Tech 3 Racing Press Release
