Moreno 25th, Torres DNF At Phillip Island
The Moto2 riders took to the grid at Phillip Island with the rain of the 125cc race still in mind. In contrast to qualifying, the intermediate class was the more fortunate with the weather, and a completely dry race took place at the Australian GP. The delay to the start of the 125cc race had a knock-on effect on Moto2,which kicked off half an hour later than planned (14:45 local time)
Scout Redding took an early lead once the lights went out, but Stefan Bradl took charge shortly afterwards. He towed Alex De Angelis along with him, and was overtaken by the rider from San Marino on the final lap. Marc Márquez took the final podium spot after an epic comeback from last on the grid.
Standing in for Julián Simón, Iván Moreno had been acclimatising to the MAPFRE Aspar team this weekend. He completed his first race for the team, placing 25th in Australia. The Spaniard landed in Phillip Island with no prior knowledge of the track, the Suter chassis or his new team, but made continual improvement in practice. Ten riders failed to finish at Phillip Island, but Moreno was able to stay up in the tricky conditions for the entirety of the 25-lap contest.
Teammate Jordi Torres was not so lucky, and crashed out on the opening lap for the second race in succession. He had looked to be on course for a first points-scoring finish, but had his brake lever clipped in contact with another rider and lost the front end.
25th Iván Moreno:
“I am happy to have finished the race, but I am also left with the feeling that I could have done more. It was a nice experience but difficult at the same time, because the wind was a big handicap. I was cautious at the start, thinking that I would find a good pace as the laps went by, but I was never comfortable in the end. I want to thank the team for their hard work, because they helped me a lot over the entire weekend. I made some mistakes in the race that came from inexperience in the class and with the bike. Now that I am familiar with the team and with the bike, I hope to do much better next weekend in Malaysia.”
Jordi Torres (DNF):
“I feel bad for ending another race this way, as it is the second time that I have crashed out before the end of the first lap. I was really up for this race and for earning some points, which is something that I always seem on the brink of doing. I hope that this setback makes us stronger for the next race, because both I and the team are doing a good job. The team had put a lot of effort into setting the bike up as best possible. Things aren’t going our way, but I hope that our luck changes soon. I was parallel with another rider on the turn, and he clipped my brake lever. That is why I crashed.”
Source: Aspar Media
