Mulhauser not happy with 22nd, Hook surprises everyone
Only the newly crowned Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco – the Frenchman secured his title on Friday after the withdrawal of his predecessor Esteve “Tito” Rabat, who got injured in a training accident a few days ago – was faster than Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) in the qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix on the circuit of Motegi. This race, that will start at 5:20am on Sunday morning Swiss time, should allow the winner from last year to fight for the victory again; Zarco and Lüthi are not only the two fastest riders in Japan, they are also the most consistent. Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten) missed out on a Top-20 start by a small margin and he will start from the 22nd position of the starting grid. Young Australian Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten), who is replacing Dominique Aegerter and is learning to ride a Moto2 bike, will be by his side. A sum-up of the day from Frédéric Corminboeuf, the head of CGBM Evolution, the company owner of the two Swiss teams: “It is a nice feeling to be back in the parc fermé at the end of the day, which means a front row start. Tom and the new world champion dominated these two practice days, he has the pace and consistency. With a good start, I am sure that Lüthi will fight for the victory. Robin is close to Top-20, which is what we want from him; what is annoying is that I still have the impression that he has the potential to do a lot better. We must find how to click everything together. Another nice surprise is the increasing performance of Josh; knowing that he has never ridden a Moto2 bike before Friday morning, it is amazing. His collaboration with Gilles Bigot and Mathieu Grodecoeur, his technicians, is really good. Hook listens, understands, he knows that this race and the following Sunday in Phillip Island are good opportunities for him to get noticed.”
They said…
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 22nd): “I am angry! We lost the morning’s session trying a set-up that did not work at all. The idea for this afternoon was to ride with Tom to benefit from his slipstream. As soon as we went out I was there, but others had the same idea; everyone tried to follow him and we were obviously blocking each other. Then I made bad choices: I was behind Randy Krummenacher and he stopped. Then with Kallio, believing that it was a good tow, but the vice-champion from last year was doing the same lap times as me. At the end of the session, Tom was there again but he had new tires and mine were already used at that time. It is annoying because I am so sure that a Top-20 was possible, maybe even better. I really have to manage these decisive minutes better.”
Joshua Hook (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 23rd): “It is already a lot better than yesterday and this afternoon in qualifying it was again better than in the morning’s third free practice. I feel more and more comfortable on this Moto2 machine; I am starting to understand its reactions, the chassis and the team works really well. Of course 23rd on the grid does not say that much, but we are in the world championship and in the most competitive category. I knew what to expect, because all the riders here already have a lot of experience. I enjoy every moment and if it should rain for the race, there may well be a nice battle.”
