Tech 3 Racing Team rider Danny Kent produced a rousing recovery in his home Moto2 round at Silverstone today to fight his way inside the top 20 for the seventh time in his rookie campaign.
Kent, who secured his 2014 future with the French-based Tech 3 squad earlier this weekend, delivered an overtaking exhibition on the opening lap, the British rider recovering nine places to 18th to immediately thrust himself into the points scoring contention.
As the early pace intensified in sunny but cool conditions at the super fast Silverstone track, Kent slipped out of the top 20 before his consistent speed moved him back into contention for the top in the final laps.
He eventually took 18th position at the chequered flag, which was not the outcome he envisaged after an incredibly strong showing all weekend.
Kent had been comfortably able to lap inside the top 10 but an early qualifying crash left him 27th on the grid and he will now focus on showing his true potential at the next round in Misano.
Teammate Louis Rossi also set an outstanding early pace in the 18-lap encounter and like Kent a aggressive strategy promoted him up the rankings from outside the top 20 to the brink of the points scoring places.
Locked in an early battle for the top 15, the Frenchman was unable to maintain his early momentum but he did pick up precious experience in the tough Moto2 category after becoming engaged in a thrilling seven-rider fight for 19th.
The group included reigning Moto3 World Champion Sandro Cortese and Moto2 race winner Yuki Takahashi and at the chequered flag only 1.6s split the pack.
Danny Kent 18th – 7 points :
“I knew it was going to be a very difficult race after qualifying so far down but I have to take the positives from the weekend. Going into qualifying I was sixth in practice and really happy with the performance of the Mistral 610. At least I know I can run the pace at the front but the crash in qualifying really put me on the back foot and it is a shame I couldn’t finish in the points in my home race. I got a good start in the race and made up a few places but after the crash my hip kept cramping up and it was difficult. Now I am determined to bounce back in Misano and show the pace throughout that we had in practice here.”
Louis Rossi 24th - 4 points :
“I got a very good start and the first part of the race was not too bad but once I started suffering with the pain from my left foot injury it became very difficult. I was struggling to shift down and the pain was disturbing my concentration and unfortunately I did quite a few mistakes during the whole race. Towards the end of the race I was really suffering a lot, but I absolutely wanted to finish even if I lost a few positions during the last lap. It’s a pity because I think that we would have been able to show a better performance compared to the last races without the injury from Friday. But now I can just look forward to getting some rest and being back to full fitness in Misano.”
Tech 3 Racing Press Release
