Louis Rossi claimed a fantastic career best Moto2 result in this afternoon’s Iveco TT Assen, the Tech 3 Racing Team rider taking a determined 13th position at the legendary Dutch venue.
After mixed weather dominated practice and qualifying, today’s 24-lap race got underway in the best conditions of the weekend so far and Rossi wasted no time in launching an assault on the top 15.
Aggressive and confident moves saw him claim four places on the first lap from 19th position on the grid and three laps later his pace on new tyres continued to impress when he claimed a further two places to grab 13th.
Rossi’s superb performance in the early laps gave him the perfect opportunity to learn more about the high level in Moto2 and also the potential of the Mistral 610 machine in a close battle.
He was battling with experienced Moto2 race-winning talent like Thomas Luthi and Alex de Angelis and the knowledge gained will prove invaluable in helping Rossi’s development in the ultra-competitive category.
He finished 13th but the most pleasing aspect of his race was his pace on worn tyres in the final laps. A brilliant late surge saw him finish less than one second away from the top 10 and he set a personal best lap of 1.39.428 on the last lap.
That was over 0.2s better than his qualifying pace and only race winner Pol Espargaro, World Championship leader Scott Redding and Mika Kallio in fourth were faster on the final lap than Rossi.
British rider Danny Kent was also a fast starter this afternoon and like Rossi an aggressive first lap saw him move four places up the rankings to the brink of the top 20.
He gradually built up to a fast and consistent rhythm and shortly before the halfway stage he was poised to mount a charge on the top 15.
Unfortunately he was unable to maintain his pace and he slipped down the order to 20th, the teenager now looking to bounce back with a strong result at the next round in Germany before the summer break.
Louis Rossi 13th - 4 points :
“I can be extremely satisfied with today’s result and I am most pleased for my Tech 3 Racing Team because they have given me great support all season. We have had some bad times while I have been learning but we continued to work and never gave up on trying to improve and today we demonstrated more of our true potential. It is great to be back in the points and there are a lot of positives to take from this weekend. I did well in qualifying and this obviously gives you more of a chance in the race and my first lap was strong and I was immediately in the points. I was fast on new and old tyres and riding in that group with people like Luthi gave me a lot of confidence. But more importantly it was a huge help to building my experience. Hopefully now I can be strong again in Germany and be battling for more points.”
Danny Kent 20th – 3 points :
“Obviously I am not happy with how today’s race went. Coming into this weekend I was really excited because Assen is of my favourite tracks and after the positive result in Catalunya I was optimistic I would be in the top 15 again. But all weekend we struggled with the set-up and I was fighting the bike the whole time. All I can do is try and put this result behind me as quickly as possible and get to Germany and focus on being strong and in the hunt for the points again.”
Herve Poncharal –Team Manager :
“I am so pleased with Louis today because he did a fantastic job and this was the perfect way for him to bounce back from two very difficult races. Every session he has been like a different rider and it looks like the private test we did in Spain after Barcelona has really helped him and he has taken profit from that. Right from the start he was inside the top 15 and he just pushed as hard as he could for the whole race. I don’t think he could have got more out of the Mistral 610 package today and the way he rode will give him a lot of confidence. What was really important too is the experience he gained from racing with people like Luthi, de Angelis, West and Simon, who all have vast experience in Moto2. That will be priceless for the forthcoming races. He was fast and consistent throughout the race and to be almost as quick as the top two on the final lap is a great achievement and shows the potential Louis has. It also demonstrates that we are moving in the right direction with the Mistral 610. I really hope now that today’s result gives him the confidence to have a really strong second half to 2013, starting at the next round in Germany. It is a shame for Danny because he was confident after scoring his first points in Catalunya and he was happy and fast at the test. But it has been a difficult weekend throughout and we were expecting a lot more. He has the talent but I think he has to push more and believe in himself.”
Tech 3 Racing Press Release
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