Lecuona debuts in Grand Prix, Mulhauser lacks confidence
The first day of free practice for the British Grand Prix in Silverstone saw some typical British weather conditions... with a few showers during the day. The Moto2 protagonists, who were the last to go out on track, were no exception - their two sessions of the day were cut short by the rain. Before that, Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) was able to reassure himself. The victim of a serious crash two weeks ago during qualifying for the Czech Grand Prix in Brno, the fifth man of the provisional overall world championship classification, passed the medical test on Thursday evening. It remained to be seen how he would feel on track: second in the morning's session and fifth overall today, Tom fully reassured himself. Today also marked the world championship debut of a young Spanish hope Iker Lecuona (carXpert Interwetten), who is replacing Dominique Aegerter, injured last week in a motocross training accident. The victim of a small crash in the morning's rainy conditions, Iker was on his way to continue his improvement this afternoon before it started raining again. A difficult day for Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten) who does not have any confidence. Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the Swiss team, sums up this Friday: "Tom is back in business, although he still has pain in his left foot. He is fast, we have found a solid initial base to work with that we need to confirm tomorrow as the sessions were shorter today. Iker was able to show us some very positive signs in such a short time; his ideal time puts him in a provisional 18th position, this is very interesting for his first day. As regards Robin, he needs to start enjoying riding the bike again; I am still sure that he is capable of much more than what he has been showing lately."
They said...
Iker Lecuona (carXpert Interwetten, 26th): "I was improving on each lap despite the fact that this track is difficult and so were the weather conditions. About my crash this morning, I was almost stopped and the front wheel suddenly slipped; I tried everything to keep the bike up so that it does not hit the ground too hard. This is obviously a dream to come true this weekend: to be in the Moto2 world championship at the age of 16, it is still hard to believe. However, things are clear with Fred and the whole team, I am here to learn and to enjoy myself. I need to enjoy it."
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, 27th): "I don't have much to say today. I only did a dozen of laps. We made a few changes on the bike and when I was about to leave the box, everyone stopped because the rain intensified. I always struggled on bumpy circuits and this one is extremely bumpy. Also with this weather one has to give it everything from the first lap and for that you need confidence."
