Uribe Bounces Back In Estoril Moto2 European Championship Race
Jayson Uribe bounced back from a race one crash to score his best result of the season so far, 9th, in the latest edition of the FIM Repsol European Moto2 Championship at Estoril in Portugal yesterday.
Uribe who is in his second season aboard the Team AGR Kalex qualified 11th after overcoming some small set-up issues during qualifying and was feeling good ahead of the two 18 lap races at the former GP venue near the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
Race one was over before it really began, the #36 taken out on the opening lap. Frustrated, he was determined to make amends in race 2.
Involved in a multi-rider fight for 7th Jayson was riding well when he saved what looked to be an inevitable highside. Thankfully he remained in the saddle and was able to regroup to claim his best result of the year and 7 valuable championship points.
The next round of the series takes Jayson and the AGR Team back to Spain and the Jerez circuit where optimism is high for a further step forward in results.
Jayson Uribe: “I had a good weekend at the Circuit de Estoril, in Portugal. The team worked hard and we made a big step in bike set up. The first 2 days of free practice were difficult. We were chasing a setting and I couldn’t seem to find my rhythm on the bike. We played around with some suspension changes for qualifying, as well as improving my own ability to ride, and we came out with a decent result – 11th overall. Race day and I got taken out on the first lap in race one, which definitely got me fired up for race 2. I had a good start in the second outing, and was battling for 7th, when I had the biggest high side save of my life, and I lost contact with the group in front. After that I kept it together to score my best result of the season so far. Step by step, we are making progress. It’s been an up and down year so far, but we are all confident in our abilities to perform well by the end of the season!”
More, from a press release issued by Hunter Su’s publicist:
Su Happy After Estoril Moto3 Race Finish
Hunter Su, the sole Chinese rider competing in the FIM Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship, continued his impressive series of improvements after qualifying for yesterday’s Portuguese round at Estoril, racing to a credible 23rd at the end of the inaugural race at the former GP venue.
Su, who has altered his riding style dramatically in a bid to be closer to the front had an up and down weekend, crashing twice during qualifying (once through no fault of his own) eventually qualifying 42nd on the ultra-competitive grid.
Hunter’s target for the race was simple… ‘stay on two wheels, learn as much as possible and try to improve on your personal best lap time.’
Often easier said than done Su accomplished all three objectives, returning to the pit box after the flag to congratulations from the team, with another Junior World Championship finish under his belt and a confidence to take to the next round at Jerez on the 17th September.
Hunter Su – 23rd: “This past weekend in Estoril was very exciting. It was quite windy and the really tricky condition led to many crashes. My team worked hard all week and we made another big step on the set up of the bike which gave me a lot of confidence even under the windy conditions. Maybe a little too much confidence – I pushed too hard crashing out of both qualifying sessions. However I was able to qualify and race this time! The race was just crazy, almost half of the grid crashed out. I tried to squeeze in at the first corner, but I lost the pack trying to avoid the crashes in front of me. After seeing many riders out of the race, my goal was to concentrate and finish and in the end I finished 23rd. Another big learning curve, and I managed to improve a lot. Now it’s time to get back to hard training. Thanks again to all my sponsors, team, family and friends for the great support. See you all in Jerez after the summer break!”