Cardus battles to 19th after bad start at Assen

QMMF Racing Team riders Mashel Al Naimi and Ricky Cardús played it safe at the wet Dutch TT and achieved their most important goal: To finish the race and see the chequered flag without risking a crash.
Rain showers had soaked the famous 4.5 kilometre circuit of Assen in the morning, and the Moto2 race was declared “wet” even though the drizzles stopped and the track started to dry up during the 24 laps, putting enormous stress on the rain tyres that most of the riders had chosen.

Ricky Cardús, who never had raced at Assen before, had a poor start and held 29th position after one lap before battling his way through the pack and taking 19th position.

Ricky Cardús – 19º: “I’ve had the same problem as always: when we don’t qualify well then in the race it is very difficult to gain positions. You have to be stronger and faster in practice to have a realistic chances of finishing further ahead in the race. I didn’t start well, I got passed by several riders and besides that I didn’t have my best day as a rider. I did not want to risk another crash and my interest was only to finish in these difficult conditions and gain more experience in case the bad weather will again surprise us.”

Luis Solano, team coordinator: “Ricky had some bad luck here. He made a mistake at the start and didn’t come off the line very well, plus it was very difficult to overtake other riders in those slippery conditions. But he finished in 19th place so we can be reasonably happy.”

Source: QMMF Racing