Again problems for Marcel Schrötter: The Vilgertshofener does not make it into the second session in qualifying and therefore has to struggle in the race.
Alcaniz - If Marcel Schrötter had had his way, the race would have liked to have been a few laps longer.
“In the end I would have liked to have had five or six more laps.
I felt very fit and I think I could have kept the pace to move up to eleventh place, ”said the Vilgertshofener after his appearance in the Moto2 class at the Aragón Grand Prix in Spain.
An eleventh place would have given him at least four points more for the World Cup.
But the number of laps was fixed - and of course it wasn't increased for Schrötter either.
Ultimately, the Kalex driver from the “Liqui Moly Intact GP” team crossed the finish line in fifteenth place.
The gap to the winner, Sam Lowes (Great Britain), was 23.383 seconds.
“Of course we cannot be satisfied with the result,” said Schrötter.
The problem "was once again the starting position for the race".
For the second time in a row, the 27-year-old missed the qualifying of the best 18 drivers.
In Alcaniz he had to settle for 22nd place, that is, a place in the eighth row, on the grid.
However, Schrötter also had bad luck: In the third free practice session he drove almost half a second faster than on Friday, but at the last moment he slipped out of the top 14, which made it straight into the second qualifying.
Good start to the race
In the Q1 phase, which is a kind of “hope run”, Schrötter should have finished fourth in order to qualify for the Q2 phase.
But more than eighth rank was not possible.
“It's just frustrating.
It can't be that we start the weekend feeling okay, but then every session gets worse instead of better.
I really don't know why, "he is quoted in a team message.
Schrötter started the race aggressively, making up positions, but immediately after the first corner there was a moment of shock: Jorge Navarro had fallen, the Spaniard and his bike were sliding along the asphalt.
“It was an incredibly difficult situation because I had to look and react in seconds, where does the motorcycle slide and where the driver is going,” Schrötter described the scene from his point of view.
"At first I thought that I would have made it through well, but I had to brake again." From the first lap he came in 22nd.
Within three laps he had worked his way up to 17th position.
Schrötter then finished the race behind Stefano Manzi (Italy), who overtook him on lap six.
His team mate Thomas Lüthi did not achieve an outstanding result with twelfth place.
Team manager Jürgen Lingg spoke of a "very difficult weekend" for the team.
But there were also rays of hope: "With Marcel, I was pleased that he was basically just as fast as the top on the last laps."
Moto2 again after MotoGP
Schrötter has the chance to do better next weekend.
Another Grand Prix takes place on the 5.1 kilometer course in Alcaniz.
He is "super happy that we are going to drive this route again".
He is hoping for a learning effect from the last race.
“Our aim must therefore be to first understand the situation better and then do better.
But above all we have to get stronger again in qualifying. ”That will take place on Saturday at 3:50 pm (Q1) and 4:15 pm (Q2).
The third free practice starts on Saturday at 11.55 a.m. and the race is scheduled for Sunday at 2.30 p.m.