Pflugdorf/Aragon – You can't get much more bad luck than that.
For motorbike pro Marcel Schrötter from Pflugdorf, the “Grand Prix of Aragon” in the Spanish “Motorland Aragon” was over after just a few seconds on Sunday.
In what is expected to be his penultimate Moto2 race in Europe, the Kalex rider from the Memmingen “Liqui Moly Intact GP Team”, which he will be leaving at the end of the season, crashed on lap one right after the start.
That was the "crowning glory" of a completely screwed up weekend.
Schrötter didn't get along at all at first and had to start the race from 22nd place on the grid.
"A mega disappointment," he admitted.
It only got better in the warm-up on Sunday – after 11th place, the 29-year-old German hoped for a “good race”, as he said shortly before the start.
"Have fun, enjoy the race and get the best out of it," was his goal.
But that didn't work out: he didn't get away well from the eighth row and got into a crowd in the first corner.
A corner later, Spaniard Alonso Lopez crashed, causing chaos for the following drivers.
Schrötter was unable to react in time when some riders in front of him braked, which resulted in contact with another bike.
He was already flat on his nose in the second corner.
He had never been eliminated so quickly.
“That was a pity, because after the good warm-up I started the race with great motivation.
The session in the morning was very good and I immediately felt very comfortable on the bike.
For the first time in a while, I had the feeling that I was riding the bike the way I wanted to,” said the man from Pflugdorf.
“The fact that we could only win from our starting position also spurred me on.
This may sound a bit silly, but these races are usually the easier ones.
My gut feeling told me that I could deliver my good race.
Unfortunately, it was over very quickly.”
Schrötter explains what happened in turn two: “My crash was the result of a chain reaction of unfortunate circumstances.
But those are the things that can just happen when you have to start from so far behind.
It started off with a suboptimal start, so I wasn't in the attacking position I wanted to be in.
Then Lopez's crash, which happened at a point where you're already flat out accelerating between the two corners.
It was difficult for me to see that some were braking in front of me.
I wasn't able to react that quickly because I was already about to overtake.
That was the trigger.
The good thing is that I'm unhurt and we made a move in the morning.
Hopefully we can take that and that feeling back to Japan.
Aragon was the last race before the motorcycle aces' big overseas trip.
Schrötter's "Intact farewell tour" continues to Japan, where the "Japanese Grand Prix" will be held in Motegi next Sunday.
Start is at 6.20 a.m. our time.
As always, ServusTV is broadcasting live.
Then there are races in Thailand (October 2), Australia (October 16) and Malaysia (October 23) on the program.
The season finale, probably Schrötter's last appearance in Moto2, will be held in Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, November 6th.
In the overall World Championship standings in the Moto2 class, the man from Pflugdorf dropped back to 10th place with 101 points after 15 of 20 races.