Robin Mulhauser close to Top-20, Josh Hook still too tense

Pole Position – eighth Pole in his career, third in Moto2 – the best time ever set on the Malaysian circuit of Sepang (previously held by Pol Espargaró since 2012), Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) with a promising pace was the man of the day here in Malaysia. Impressive from the moment he entered the track; the Swiss rider set a lap time on his third lap already that only the world champion, Johann Zarco from France, was able to challenge. Another good surprise today came from Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten), who finished 21st and only just missed out on the Top-20 by 39 thousands of a second. The day was, however, a bit more difficult for Joshua “Josh” Hook from Australia, who is replacing Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) and who finished 29th. A positive sum up of the day with Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the Swiss “Dream Team”: “Finally! A proof that hard work pays off! Tom has been performing really well in practice for quite a while and finally he turned his hard work into this superb pole position. He was strong these two days and fully concentrated on his job and although this is still only practice, we can be very optimistic about the race. Not only Tom has become the fastest ever rider on this circuit of Sepang in this category, but also he did a number of very good laps; he will be fighting for the victory together with Zarco and Rins. Robin did what we expect from him – he found the right direction, he is getting closer to the Top-15 and I hope that he can confirm this in the race tomorrow and also in Valencia in two weeks. This would be the best start to his preparation for the 2016 season. Unfortunately Josh is finding it difficult to adapt his riding style to a Moto2 bike on this circuit that we know is very difficult. After a good weekend in Australia, he arrived here with a strong mind but he probably put a bit too much pressure on himself, involuntarily. He is not looking for an excuse, he is tense and he absolutely needs to relax tomorrow in the race.”

He said…

Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 21st): “Today was a good day and a good qualifying; I managed to get into a good rhythm immediately on this circuit, which is positive. When I went out I was unfortunately stuck in a big group. Then I stopped for new tires and from my first quick lap when I was on my own I did a 2’08.4. I continued to push and I could feel that 2’07 was possible but then the first drops of rain came. This is my second best qualifying of the season after a 20th position in Barcelona and I strongly believe that I can make a good race on Sunday. The only question, which is the same for everyone else, is the rear tire: it loses grip very quickly and we have to fight with the bike. It will be demanding physically with these temperatures but I am ready.”