MotoGP GP of San Marino – Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
The Grand Prix of San Marino was not easy for Team Reale Avintia Racing as Xavier Simeon’s hopes of fighting for points and scoring a strong result evaporated at the beginning of the fourth lap when he lost the front of his Ducati GP17 and crashed. As the Belgian rider says, it was a pity, because the previous work of the weekend had been very positive and his pace and race set-up were more than acceptable.
New team-mate and MotoGP rookie Christoph Ponsson finished his first Grand Prix, in a weekend that was also difficult for him due to the criticism of numerous publications and riders pilots. The most important thing for him today was to gain experience and finish the race, which he achieved.
The next round of the championship will take place within two weeks at the MotorLand Aragón Circuit and will be the third home race for Team Reale Avintia Racing.
“It was a shame to crash in the race and without a doubt, this is not what I expected. The first thing that went wrong was the start and that’s what ultimately caused this crash, because I tried to recover and go with the group that was in front of me. But apart from this, I had fun and I learned a lot this weekend riding the GP17, although, of course, you can’t jump on a different bike and do miracles. I think I’ve done good lap times during practice, compared to last year. And I’ve also reconfirmed that the level of this category is very high even with a better bike. I hope to be able to take advantage of all I’ve learned this weekend when we get to Aragon, where I want to be stronger from Friday and make a good weekend”.
“It’s been a long race. I expected it that way and I faced the race as a 27-lap practice session. It helped me to understand many things about the front tire and I have also experienced how the behaviour of the bike as the fuel load gets less towards the middle of the race. I also learned the difference between a new and a worn tire, because it changes the way you have to ride during the race. My last lap was only half a second slower than my best one in qualifying and this was also positive. I think we haven’t made any mistakes. I learned a lot and I did not crash because I did not want to lose track time. It was difficult to take everything in in such a short time, but the experience was worth it. I hope I can do better in Aragon”.
