Luis Salom finished a brave second in the Czech Grand Prix, almost six seconds after race winner Jonas Folger. RW Racing GP’s rider was clearly the best of the rest. Mixed weather conditions decided the race at the circuit of Brno, with tire choice as the biggest gamble.
The race started on a wet but fast drying track. Efren Vazquez took the whole shot on wet tires and took Jonas Folger, on slicks, with him. The two of them took a huge advantage until Vazquez’ tires began to wear off and Folger was the sole rider left. Halfway the race he had an advantage of ten seconds over the group with championship leaders Sandro Cortese, Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom. They closed in fast and picked up the men ahead one by one to battle it out in the final couple of laps.
Two laps before the end Salom pulled out the fastest lap of the entire race, showing what he had left. In the last lap he was the most determined. He made a hard pass on Cortese going into the penultimate corner (Turn 13) and managed to stay ahead on the line. Viñales just missed out on the podium. Finishing second Salom gained some valuable points for the championship and closed the gap to Cortese and Viñales a little bit.
Brad Binder had to start from 23rd on the grid with a battered and bruised body after his crash in qualifying. Without taking any risks under the tricky conditions he finished 20th.
Luis Salom (2nd): "The plan my team manager Johan and I made was to stay with Cortese and Viñales. I did, while I should have gone with Jonas Folger. I lost too much in the beginning of the race. I was sleeping when Folger passed me and went away with Vazquez and Khairuddin. I could not get away after that. In the end I just pushed and pushed and gave all I have for the best possible result. 45 points in two races – a win and a second place – is a great result."
Brad Binder (20th): "I am obviously disappointed. I had no confidence at all at the beginning of this race and therefore I was way too careful. I just started too slow. It’s a pity, because the bike was running fine."
Team manager Johan Stigefelt: "If the race had lasted for two or three more laps, they would have caught Folger and Luis could have won the race. On the other hand Luis should have paid a little bit more attention in the beginning when a few riders got away. He was a bit too careful. So was Brad. But it is too easy to say what they should or could have done afterwards. It is what it is and everybody did the best he could. As a team we are happy. Our crew, KTM, Kalex and Ohlins have done a great job."
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