Aegerter fights in Sachsenring, Mulhauser needs more time
Occasional rain throughout the day disturbed the two free practice sessions for the German Grand Prix on the circuit of Sachsenring that started in tricky conditions. The sky being capricious, teams could not do more than roughly assess the set-up for Sunday's race and given these circumstances, it is not surprising that the quickest time of the day - set by Takaaki Nakagami from Japan, the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix three weeks ago - was more than a second slower than the Moto2 lap record of this circuit (established by the reigning world champion Johann Zarco last year). Sixth today, Tom Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) was the fastest Swiss representative in these conditions. Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten) was 4 tenths behind his teammate and Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten) finished this Friday in 25th position. Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the two Swiss teams, sums up the day: "We did not avoid the rain both this morning and this afternoon. During the first session none of our three riders found grace in these particular grip conditions, however, I am happy to say that they all responded well in the afternoon. The positions are not outstanding yet and I really hope that Saturday morning will be completely dry so we can prepare for the race on Sunday. We have the pace, we've known that for a while now, but we need to find a solution to transform our level of performance into new podiums."
While the world championship is going to take a three-week break, riders and their teams will not be on holiday yet: next Tuesday and Wednesday Aegerter and Mulhauser will test in Brno while Tom Lüthi will be Austria for another KTM MotoGP test.
They said...
Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten, 14th): "Conditions are difficult with this rain. The fastest riders are a second off and I am two. That said we are pushing hard to find an ideal set-up. I was very keen but the bike is still not what I expect; the key here is to find the best possible stability in the corners when you are on the gas and I am not there yet. About my crash during the Suzuka 8-hour test? It does not cause any problems when I ride, although I am still limping in the paddock. I would really like to do well here. Sachsenring is a bit like my "home" Grand Prix, there are many Swiss fans and I also have a lot of German supporters here that were supporting me already before my victory 2014."
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, 25th): "I had a strange day, we were not able to do many good laps to work and there is a bit of pressure in terms of the bike set-up. However, I know that it is the same for everyone. At the end of the second session I managed to do a lap time that was 2 seconds off the pole, the feeling is good and I hope to be able to confirm this on Saturday in different conditions because it should be warmer."
