Josh Hook happy at home, Robin Mulhauser haunted by an old demon
The temperature – still very high yesterday – dropped by fifteen degrees in a few hours, wind picked up and the rain was approaching: the first day of free practice for the Australian Grand Prix this Sunday, on the stunning circuit of Phillip Island, was very typical for this place. On this island, located south of a giant country, one has to deal with the Mother Nature all the time. Seventh overall, 4 tenths off the pace today, Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten), is fully concentrated on his work on this circuit that he likes. Twenty-fifth and 2 seconds off, Australian Josh Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten), replacing Dominique Aegerter – the rider from Rohrbach left the Bad Ragaz clinic on Wednesday to continue his recovery at home – makes a progress in each session, while his team mate Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten), has not forgotten that last year he had two high-speed and painful crashes here. The boss Frédéric Corminboeuf comments: “We are on it with Tom, although we are still losing a bit with this provisional seventh position; he is only losing two tenths on the front row and that is his objective for Saturday. Robin hasn’t forgotten his two big crashes that ended his weekend prematurely last year. For him it is as if he was learning a new track. He lacks confidence but as soon as his riding style becomes smoother, he will be close to his set target. As for Josh, it is a nice confirmation. We are on a circuit that he knows well and he is only 2 seconds off the provisional pole. Being a rookie on a Moto2 bike, it is very interesting. He manages his sessions really well and he makes a steady progress.”
They said…
Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 25th): “I am of course very happy to be here in Phillip Island, in my country, but I would be even happier if I was faster! I am still lacking a huge amount of experience with the Moto2. That explains why, like today, we started in the wrong direction in terms of the set-up. I love this circuit, I made my debut Grand Prix appearance here with a 125cc in 2009 and I rode here a lot with a superbike, but we cannot compare a Moto2 bike with whatever I have experienced so far, chassis, the tires, everything is different. My objective? I honestly think that I am able to score points if we continue to work well with the team.”
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 28th): “The lap time and my position are not great to say the least! But the truth is I have a long and painful history with this circuit. It is stronger than me: the place where I hurt myself last year is where I lose a lot of time. I have to give a maximum effort to recover. The weather played us this morning. In the afternoon it was a bit better towards the end. I am far off but I do not panic because I know why my first day was so difficult. Furthermore I am sure that on Saturday I can make a step forward. This circuit is difficult but amazing.”
