Things are bad for Thomas Lüthi (Kalex). The Bernese fell in Jerez during the GP of Spain Moto2. His goal of fighting for the title already seems compromised after two races.
After the disappointment experienced in March in Qatar, where he finished 10th, Lüthi hoped to regain the front ranks during this resumption of the season. But we had to be disillusioned, and how: only 19th on the grid, he had very low hopes of being able to join the fight in front.
After a good start and the immediate gain of five places, the veteran Bernese made steady progress to temporarily occupy 9th place. He was playing in 11th place when he fell two laps from the end. “I was over the limit and when the tires deteriorated I lost control of the front,” said Lüthi.
Two races, six small points to his credit: the results are starving. But the Bernese do not give up. “We will continue to work hard. We will use the next few days to establish a solid plan for the next weekend,” he said.
The victory in Moto2 smiled on the Italian Luca Marini (Kalex), the half-brother of Valentino Rossi, who signed the fourth success of his career in the category. He preceded the Japanese Tetsuta Nagashima, winner in Qatar, and the Spaniard Jorge Martin, both also on Kalex.
First for Quartararo
Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) celebrated his first MotoGP success. The Frenchman won in Jerez in a race full of surprises, marked by the heavy fall of Marc Marquez (Honda).
Author of pole position, Quartararo (21) this time broke the Indian sign and unlocked his counter. This first success could well bring others. He beat the Spaniard Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) and the Italian Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati).
And Marc Marquez? The defending champion had an eventful race. So in the lead on lap 5, he got off the track and miraculously managed to avoid the crash. The Spaniard ended up 16th and started a crazy comeback. Four laps from the finish, when he had just taken 3rd place, he fell heavily this time. Worse, he fractured his right humerus and will have to be operated on Monday in Barcelona.
In Moto3, Fribourger Jason Dupasquier (KTM) finished the second world race of his career in 21st place. The 18-year-old rookie needs to accumulate experience at this level. He did better than in Qatar in March, where he took 25th place.
Spaniard Albert Arenas (KTM) won ahead of Japanese Ai Ogura (Honda). The first nine finished in the same second in a category where the races are very competitive.
Podium for Aegerter
Dominique Aegerter made a successful debut in MotoE. The Bernese finished 3rd in Jerez, climbing to the podium. The victory smiled on Brazilian Eric Granado ahead of Italian Matteo Ferrari (3”044) and Aegerter (3”299).
“It’s great to finish this first weekend on the podium,” said the Bernese. “I also know that we still have to progress,” he added, referring to the rest of the season, which will include six more races, the next one in a week in Jerez again, but for the GP from Andalusia.
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