Determined Folger and Zarco ready for Wild West battle at the Americas GP
The rapid Monster Yamaha Tech3 team duo head to Austin, Texas this week fully prepared for the round 3 fight as they look to continue their impressive run of results in 2017. Jonas Folger aims to carry on the positive momentum after his notable top six finish in Argentina and contest for another top tier result at the state of the art Circuit of the Americas track. Whereas, Johann Zarco intends to produce another strong performance and dice with the front–runners in the highly competitive class, after finishing the last GP in 5th. The action gets underway at 09:55 local time, or 16:55 in Europe, on Friday 21st April.
Jonas FOLGER
Championship: 6th – Points: 16
“I am excited for the next round in America, especially after the Argentina GP, where we had such a good weekend. We learnt a lot there, but the area that I improved the most in was myself, plus we made some really solid steps forward with regards to the start of a GP. So, I will take all the positives from there to Texas and I’m certain that we can make some more progress and seize a high point scoring finish, just like we did at the last round. I really like the COTA circuit and it’s physically demanding nature, and after the good result at the last event, I have a high level of optimism. I feel confident on the bike and we are all keen to get going, so I am very excited about riding my Yamaha at this awesome track.”
Johann ZARCO
Championship: 11th – Points: 11
“The Circuit of the Americas is impressive and I am confident that I can seal a good result there with my Yamaha. The layout is demanding because there are twenty corners and it’s certainly physical. However, I have a good record in Texas and I have finished on the podium twice in the past two years in Moto2. At the moment, my feeling on the YZR-M1 bike is great and after the 5th place finish in Argentina, I want to stay on this level. Yet, when we start, I will stay relaxed and I will work with the team and on myself because, at this venue, it’s vital to understand the direction that we need to head towards as there are so many corners. If you make one small mistake, it takes almost half a lap to recover, so therefore, it’s more important to work on the rider and to find the perfect line on the asphalt, rather than focusing too much on finding the ideal setup. Nevertheless, I am keen to race in America, and I will go there with a high level of motivation because, at the moment, my feeling is wonderful.”
Hervé PONCHARAL
Team manager
“Next up for us is the Americas Grand Prix in Austin Texas, which is the event that the whole paddock always looks forward to. However, it is particularly important for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team because we always have such great support from Yamaha USA, who look after us so well, and I have to mention Bob Starr, who lives up to his surname! This race is also very important for us because our title sponsor, Monster Energy, is American as are our other sponsors Stanley Black and Decker and so we will do our absolute best in representing these two partners in a positive way. After the superb weekend that we had in Argentina, our two riders flew back to Europe where they had a well-deserved rest and did some training. Now it’s time to head to Texas, and both of them like the Austin track, plus I think that what they achieved at the last GP has boosted their confidence. Johann and Jonas know that they can ride inside the top six so the challenge will be for them to fight for a similar result this time. There were a few crashes in Argentina, but if our guys can finish inside the top eight and ahead of some of the top riders, then that will be a really solid close to this race. Everyone in the team is fully motivated and the weekend between Argentina and Texas was welcomed but now we are all ready to go and put on a good show for our American fans and friends.”