Mulhauser starts well, Aegerter lacks confidence
Fourth in Friday morning's free practice session, second in the afternoon and second overall: Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten), who has already won four times on the circuit of Le Mans (French GP), immediately placed himself among the candidates for the race on Sunday, together with the reigning world champion Johann Zarco from France, who was 65 thousands of a second quicker than Tom, and Jonas Folger from Germany, who announced on Thursday that he will be moving up to MotoGP next year. While Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten) managed his best first day performance today, finishing in 22nd position, his team mate Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten) had a very difficult day, starting with a crash during the first laps of the opening free practice. The boss of the Swiss structure, Frédéric Corminboeuf, sums up this sunny Friday: "Tom is consistent and fast. This is a circuit, where he's already won last year and he has to confirm that he is the one to beat in Le Mans. The weekend started off well for him, we need to continue in this direction. Robin has had his best first day this season, he is working, he is making a progress and has good feelings; he also needs to confirm this impression on Saturday and even more importantly on Sunday in the race. Dominique is currently in trouble with his bike; in Jerez he crashed twice in practice, he crashed again this morning and this is not his style. The team has already tried many things and we absolutely need to help him even more to find his confidence again. He is sure about what he says so it's for our technicians to find the right solution."
They said...
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, 22nd) "Today was a good first day. I am enjoying this circuit a lot. Comparing my data with those from Tom, we found that I am losing 5 tenths on the main straight because I don't dare to open the gas as quickly as him while exiting the last corner that precedes this straight. The difference between the moment where Tom opens and where I do is small, but it has significant consequences. I am going to try to solve this problem on Saturday while continuing to follow Tom's advice: here I cannot brake too late, on the contrary, I have to try to hold the gas as long as possible."
Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten, 26th) "When you are this far off you can only be sad. I am sad. We tried different things today, we changed the bike a lot but without finding anything. My crash was completely unexpected this morning, the front slipped without a warning but luckily I am not hurt. When you miss your braking point ten times, you cannot find the confidence that you need. We need to keep looking for solutions tomorrow because my objective is to be in the front. Since my riding style is completely different from Tom's, his set up is not helpful for us. We have to work and I am working..."
