Hook loses his chances at the start, a weekend to forget for Mulhauser
A good start and an excellent beginning of the race that allowed him to occupy a provisional second position before a problem with his gearbox and a crash came on the seventeenth lap of the twenty-five lap race: Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten), who placed himself as the number 2 favourite in this category from the beginning of the weekend, was aiming for another podium in Australia. He had to settle for one point for a fifteenth position, a point that he went to fight for when he picked up his bike again. On board of his Kalex, Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten) from Australia, replacing Dominique Aegerter, improved throughout the race; after a bad start he eventually finished twentieth. As for his teammate, Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten), things could not have gone any worse: he got a ride through penalty (ride through the pit lane at a reduce speed) for a jump start before he crashed out of the race, luckily with no physical consequences. A sum up of this difficult day with Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the two Swiss teams: “It is frustrating and infuriating. Tom was in second position when he experienced a problem while changing gears. In Mugello he was in the front; in Indianapolis if Lowes did not crash in front of him he could have been on the podium; in Japan he was the only one who was able to keep up with Zarco’s pace in practice and here the same with Rins, and all this for nothing. The results are not what we expected but we all know that we are not far off. Robin had a disastrous weekend until the end; yet he was motivated and he showed that maybe too much when he jumped the start. Then he crashed again. He feared this race and now he has to switch to a positive mode and look forward to Malaysia. As for Josh, the second part of his race was really good but he made a bad start; he came back strong to join a group where he fought for a sixteenth position and I am sure that he will continue his progression in Sepang next weekend.”
They said…
Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 20th): “I completely missed it at the start; I need to practice this crucial moment of the race much more next week in Malaysia. After about ten laps I felt better. It was very strange: at the beginning of the race with new tires the rear grip was so good and the front was causing problems; with worn tires the bike became more comfortable to ride. I am continuing my apprenticeship in Moto2 and I hope to make further progress in Sepang.”
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, DNF): “What a weekend! I was awaiting the start and I moved by a few centimetres and then braked but the punishment came. In the first laps I was able to win a few positions but then my team told me that I had to do the ride through. When I re-joined the race I lacked concentration, I thought that the leaders were going to catch me and I did not want to get into anyone’s way, then the very fast part of the circuit came and in the last corner, where the wind blow changed compared to practice, the front suddenly became very slippery. I have to try to forget about this weekend and tell myself that Malaysia will be another story.”
