The Frenchman was very motivated ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, having clocked the fastest pace of the CRT riders in practice. Today de Puniet was the top CRT rider by some distance. He finished in eight in the end, ahead of prototype machines and with reason to be satisfied with his ride.
His Spanish team mate, Aleix Espargaro, was able to come close to de Puniet in the race. Espargaro was hoping to battle with his teammate, but a dip in track temperatures caught the Spaniard out. His bike slid about underneath him at the start of the race, as the Frenchman broke away. He eventually found a way of riding around the issue, finishing tenth and taking six more points for his tally at the top of the CRT standings.
Randy De Puniet
"Today went so well that I even managed to pass a number of prototype machines off the line. I am happy, because I think that both the team and I have done a great job this weekend. I was stuck behind Rossi at the start and could see that there was smoke coming from his bike on every lap. Spies dropped the pace and I kept on pushing. I was praying that the smoke did not mean that the engine would break down completely and leave oil on the track. When the situation stabilised I could focus on my own race. Spies overtook me and I used him as a reference for a while. Soon afterwards he crashed out, so I was left by myself. In practice I had found a fast pace, so I focused on getting back to that and riding strongly to the chequered flag. I am very happy, because I managed to finish as the best CRT rider and cut two points off my teammate's advantage."
Aleix Espargaro
"I'm a little week from the flu, but in the race I felt more or less ok. The track temperature today had dropped a lot and that affected us. From the start I could feel the bike sliding out a lot. I got a good start, but Randy escaped straight away. He was just faster than me, taking three tenths of a second out of my times with every lap. When I got passed by the Ducatis I tried to stay with them, but it was hard to ride with them. On the straight they took off and on the corners I was back amongst ElΓas and Abraham. I got as close as I could on the final laps. Toni and I exchanged passes on the last lap on three or four occasions, and in the end I won out. I was expecting a little better from the race, as I thought that we had a little more pace. Still, I am happy to have taken points and to continue to lead the CRT standings."
Press release courtesy of Power Electronics Aspar.
His Spanish team mate, Aleix Espargaro, was able to come close to de Puniet in the race. Espargaro was hoping to battle with his teammate, but a dip in track temperatures caught the Spaniard out. His bike slid about underneath him at the start of the race, as the Frenchman broke away. He eventually found a way of riding around the issue, finishing tenth and taking six more points for his tally at the top of the CRT standings.
Randy De Puniet
"Today went so well that I even managed to pass a number of prototype machines off the line. I am happy, because I think that both the team and I have done a great job this weekend. I was stuck behind Rossi at the start and could see that there was smoke coming from his bike on every lap. Spies dropped the pace and I kept on pushing. I was praying that the smoke did not mean that the engine would break down completely and leave oil on the track. When the situation stabilised I could focus on my own race. Spies overtook me and I used him as a reference for a while. Soon afterwards he crashed out, so I was left by myself. In practice I had found a fast pace, so I focused on getting back to that and riding strongly to the chequered flag. I am very happy, because I managed to finish as the best CRT rider and cut two points off my teammate's advantage."
Aleix Espargaro
"I'm a little week from the flu, but in the race I felt more or less ok. The track temperature today had dropped a lot and that affected us. From the start I could feel the bike sliding out a lot. I got a good start, but Randy escaped straight away. He was just faster than me, taking three tenths of a second out of my times with every lap. When I got passed by the Ducatis I tried to stay with them, but it was hard to ride with them. On the straight they took off and on the corners I was back amongst ElΓas and Abraham. I got as close as I could on the final laps. Toni and I exchanged passes on the last lap on three or four occasions, and in the end I won out. I was expecting a little better from the race, as I thought that we had a little more pace. Still, I am happy to have taken points and to continue to lead the CRT standings."
Press release courtesy of Power Electronics Aspar.
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