Iker Lecuona (22nd) keeps learning, Mulhauser forced to retire
After finishing sixth in the Malaysian Grand Prix, with rain at the beginning of the race, Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) was the first one to congratulate the newly crowned world champion Johann Zarco from France: "He deserves a huge respect, his season was remarkable and this weekend he was clearly the best," admits the Swiss rider, who finished sixth in this race, where it was so easy to make a mistake. Tom managed to strengthen his provisional second position in the overall championship classification ahead of the season's final in Valencia in two weeks. He is now 11 points ahead of Alex Rins from Spain, who finished 14th. Iker Lecuona (carXpert Interwetten) did what he promised, he brought his bike to the finish line after a promising performance at the beginning of the race. Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten), his team mate, was less successful, he had to retire in early stages of the race due to a rear tyre issue. The team manager Frédéric Corminboeuf shares his thoughts: "Zarco did well, this year he was the boss and the leader of the field: well done to him. Our objective is also the world title. To achieve it we need to be even better in any conditions and first of all we need to consolidate our second position this year in Valencia. We know that Tom does not really like mixed conditions but we almost managed to postpone Zarco's coronation until Valencia. We will give our best for the last race of the season to prepare even better for 2017. Iker learned a lot today, especially in these conditions you need to know how to save tyres to be able to attack at the end of the race; unfortunately, he maybe wanted too much at the beginning but that is a part of his learning. Robin got a fright a few times, unfortunately he had a technical problem that we need to analyse so that he can have a good race in Valencia."
They said...
Iker Lecuona (carXpert Interwetten, 22nd): "I was carful in the first two corners before I started to find my pace in the rain step by step. I closed on the gap in front of me, I was even in eighteenth position before I scared myself in turn No 7. Then I closed up again, not far from Nakagami, having my objective for the day clear in my head: with two very difficult races in Japan and Australia, I really wanted to finish this race. I collected a lot of experience these last three weeks and I cannot wait to be back in Valencia: my ambitions will be higher in Cheste."
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, DNF): "We had a technical problem on the rear of the bike, it was impossible to ride like this and I decided to stop. It is a pity because if the track dried, I am sure that I could have done something nice here. I only have one race left to enjoy, Valencia. And I have to admit I am also disappointed for Tom today: he would have deserved to fight for the title until the last race."
