Xavier Simeon and the Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 leave Texas without collecting points: after leading most of the race, the Belgian rider has in fact been forced to retire after a crash during the 16th lap, while he was fighting for the third position.
Siméon mantained the lead until the 12th lap, when he did a mistake caused by the same gearbox problems he experienced during practice and qualifying, dropping to fifth. He then passed Mika Kallio and with just two laps to go, Xavier was targeting the podium, when he unfortunately lost the front at turn 19.
The disappointment was strong also in the Team Gresini Moto2 garage: Lorenzo Baldassarri, who had finally solved the set-up problems found during practice he was recovering several positions in the early stages of the race, before crashing as he lost the front at the penultimate corner of the fourth lap.
Xavier Simeon (DNF)
“I'm really sorry for the team, which is doing a great job: it’s the first time that I stay in the lead for so long and today we obvoiusly could get on the podium. In the early stages I managed to keep a good pace, although I continued to have some problems with the gearbox, struggling to engage first gear. I made a first mistake because of this problem, then I found myself in fifth position but I was able to recover: I overtook Kallio and I was catching Aegerter. At that moment, my goal was clearly the podium, when at a certain point, on turn 19, I lost the front. It’s really reassuring to be so competitive, although it is clear that the most important thing is making points and so far unfortunately we didn’t do it”.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (DNF)
“I got off the line well, but then at the first corner a few riders crashed in front of me and I lost time: I felt good on the bike and I wanted to recover, but maybe I wanted to do it too quickly. I was catching the group of riders in front of me when, at the penultimate corner, while I was on the white line on the outside, I lost the front as soon as I touched the brakes. Too bad, because we had finally found the solution to ride well even on tight corners and I was faster than in qualifying”.
Federal Oil Gresini Press Release
