Marcel Schrötter put in eighth place in Moto2, a decent result at the start of the World Championship.
Shortly before the start of the race, the Vilgertshofener had a moment of shock.
Losail - A fall is always bad for a motorcyclist.
But the point in time when Marcel Schrötter hit the asphalt was particularly unfavorable.
The Vilgertshofener was hit in the last minute of the warm-up for the Moto2 Grand Prix of Qatar.
Fortunately, he was unharmed and his Kalex machine was still operational.
The pilot of the "Liqui Moly Intact GP" team also took the fall well mentally.
In the end, Schrötter crossed the finish line in eighth place.
The 28-year-old was satisfied with this start to the Grand Prix season: “All in all, it was a decent start to the championship.
We worked really well all weekend ”, Schrötter is quoted in a press release.
Above all, he thanked the team in the pits “for the excellent job after the fall at the end of the warm-up.
After the repair, my bike worked perfectly again.
That cannot be taken for granted when it comes back from a rollover. "
Marcel Schrötter satisfied with the pace of the machine
The German described it as “very positive”, “that our pace is very competitive.
That means we can line up around third and fourth place. ”According to Schrötter, the fact that it was not enough to achieve such a result this time was due to the performance in the first laps.
There he had to contend with the changed conditions compared to the training sessions (lower temperatures, more wind) according to his own admission.
"Although I didn't feel 100 percent well, I still tried to get everything out of it and overtake people," reported Schrötter.
“I made two or three minor mistakes in the process, which is why it was a tough fight against the guys at the beginning.
So the initial phase did not go optimally, the first laps could have been better. "
Schrötter started the race from the fifth row on the grid (13th place).
He had hoped for a little more after the free training sessions, as he could keep up with the pace of the best over the long term.
Only the very fast one lap in qualifying did not want him to succeed.
In the race, Schrötter finished eleventh at the end of the first lap.
In the further course he made up ground and led a chase group in tenth place for several laps.
The German left the Spaniard Jorge Navarro behind, then overtook the Dutchman Bo Bendsneyder and moved up with the late fall of the Thai Somkiat Chantra.
In eighth place, Schrötter collected eight points for the overall World Cup.
Teammate Tony Arbolino (Italy) just missed the points in sixteenth.
The victory went to the Briton Sam Lowes, who had already dominated the action in the training sessions.
Schrötter was around five seconds behind in third place, and almost eleven seconds behind the winner.
The next Grand Prix is on the program for the coming weekend.
This race will also take place on the “Losail International Circuit” near Doha.
In 2019, Schrötter took third place there at the start of the World Cup.