Faubel salvages 7th after starting from pitlane, Moncayo out with mechanical problem
The Moto3 race headlined the German Grand Prix thanks to a reshuffle of the schedule, and the contest was arguably the most exciting of the day. Delayed until 14:55 local time due to heavy rain, the riders and mechanics were forced to adapt their skills to soaking wet conditions. The slippery asphalt of the Sachsenring circuit slowed things down, breaking up the field into groups and allowing five riders to get away –including Luis Salom and Sandro Cortese. The track gradually dried out and the wet weather tyres dropped in performance, making things tricky for all involved. Cortese won the race, ahead of Alexis Masbou and Salom.
Héctor Faubel put on a show of persistence in Germany to earn a creditable result, having suffered a setback on the starting grid. The MAPFRE Aspar rider’s bike stalled whilst he awaited the start, obliging him to roll it to pit lane and start behind every other rider. Not to be demoralised, the Spaniard moved up to seventeenth within a few laps and continued to climb up the order, eventually claiming seventh at Sachsenring.
Teammate Alberto Moncayo’s race was also affected by the rain. The downpour ahead of the Moto3 race likely caused a mechanical issue with his throttle, and he was later hit by an engine temperature issue. Five laps from the chequered flag, his bike finally broke down and he was forced to retire.
7th Héctor Faubel: “I don’t know why, but my bike stopped on the grid when I was in neutral. It’s strange, because this is a four-stroke. I was taken off the grid and made to start from pit lane. I rode with calm, because I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I was shown the times of the leader son my pit board and I just tried to match those in order to move up the order. Today’s race was a great effort, because we started from last and crossed the line seventh, but it is also a shame that we had these unexpected setbacks. Without them, I think that we could have fought for the win. Despite the strange happenings, I can be happy with the comeback and this boosts my motivation –I’m sure that if we continue working hard, we will see the results that we deserve.”
Alberto Moncayo (DNF): “At the start I had a lot of trouble finding pace, because I felt the bike was accelerating too hard. Maybe that was because some water had got into the mechanism before the race in the downpour. I had trouble keeping the throttle in at low revs and lost feeling. As the track dried out, the engine started to heat up. I don’t know why, but I started to feel a lot of sharp increases in temperature. I was nonetheless able to keep my pace up, but near the end of the race I felt another huge temperature surge. I grabbed the clutch but couldn’t avoid the bike breaking down. It was a shame, because the weekend had been going very well, but once again we weren’t able to cap it off with a good result.”
Source: Aspar Team Press Release
