Eventful first day for Pons and Espargaro at Assen

The start of the Dutch Grand Prix taking place this Thursday at the Assen circuit has been marked by the rain falling during the first practice session. And with only five minutes left in the initial session for the Moto2 class some riders left a trail of oil on the asphalt which the track marshalls have been unable to clean up in time for the three classes to get underway in the afternoon. Given the dangers of riding in these conditions it was decided to end the day early. This leads to a change of schedules of the third practice tomorrow which for the Moto2 class will start at 11.30 am and last one hour and fifteen minutes.

In the short time they had to ride, the riders of the HP 40 Pons team were unable to find a satisfactory setup to ride in wet conditions. Although Aleix Espargaro has improved from the Silverstone race, which was also held in the rain, while Axel Pons, who has been one of the riders crashing out on the oil stains, has been unable to test some changes to improve his feeling in the wet.

#40. Aleix Espargaro: 23rd – 1’58’060
“There’s not much to say. We have had very little time to ride and then the rain came. At least it helped me to try to continue improving in these conditions, especially after the problems I had in England. Having a practice session less is a handicap, because I rode very little on this bike at Assen, but hopefully tomorrow the situation returns to normal and we can complete a good day.”

#80. Axel Pons: 27th – 1’58’648
“It was a shame to start the weekend this way. First the rain in which I could not ride as comfortable as usual and then for being left without one practice. Also in the morning I was one of those who crashed out on the oil stains. But anyway, I’m okay and so is the bike. Tomorrow will be a busy day. We will accumulate almost all the work in two sessions, which we need to use well to achieve a good position on the grid.”

Source: Pons Racing