Mulhauser close to Top-20, Josh Hook debuts in Moto2
Fastest in the opening free practice and third in the second session of the day, Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) was one of the fastest of the day on the circuit of Motegi in Japan. Besides him it was obviously Johann Zarco from France, who has already secured this year’s world title following the withdrawal of his last potential rival Esteve “Tito” Rabat, who only did a few laps with his fractured left shoulder suffered in a training accident at the beginning of the week. The 2014 world champion handed over his number 1 even before the Japanese Grand Prix this Sunday. Today we saw a new face on the Moto2 list with Joshua Hook replacing Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten), who continues his rehabilitation in Bad Ragaz. Hook had a good start, while Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten) improved throughout the day. A summary from the first day in the country of the Rising Sun with Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the two Swiss teams: “Tom started off really well this morning and his ideal time this afternoon would saw him on the top of the time sheets again. He is consistent and he will be there in qualifying and in the race. Robin had a solid day; he struggled a bit this morning to get back into it but the afternoon’s session was good. He is getting closer to the Top-20 in practice, which has to be his target on Saturday. Josh Hook rode a Moto2 bike for the first time in his life and his debut was very positive; he is not very complicated, he is hungry to spend more time on the bike and I am sure that in one week from now in Phillip Island he can give us a nice surprise already. We are thinking a lot about Dominique of course. This is the first Grand Prix that he was forced to miss since his debut in 2006. He is with us all the way from Bad Ragaz, we keep in touch, he encourages us and above all, he has already started intensive training with two sessions per day.”
They said…
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 23th): “The first day was positive. We worked a lot on the bike and I finished the two sessions in 23rd position, which is not bad. We found the right direction in terms of our technical plan for the qualifying; we will be looking for a good tow. I am 1,8 seconds off the pace today and my objective is to drop this gap under one second on Saturday. I am also quite happy with the long run that I did, trying to adapt to this circuit, where Tom Lüthi’s recipe works the best: being aggressive into the corners but also as smooth as possible.”
Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 28th): “I have just did my first laps on a Moto2 bike and it is obviously very different from the superbike that I have been riding for the last three years. I have so much to learn especially to understand why the front reacts in a strange way, which also resulted in a small crash. The team is great, everyone wants to help me but I know that this class is very competitive and that one needs a lot of experience. I am going to continue working and what is encouraging is that I have made a progress in each run. I am thinking a lot about Dominique, my teammate in the Suzuka 8-hour race. He is such a good guy.”
