Ideal start to the weekend for Tom Lüthi (1st)
Last race weekend before a much deserved 4-week summer break: the MotoGP circus has set up its base in Germany this weekend on the circuit of Sachsenring that will host, this Sunday, the ninth round of the total of eighteen races on the 2017 World Championship calendar. Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten) and his colleagues discovered the new surface of the German track this morning, before rain appeared at the beginning of the afternoon. The track, however, dried up fairly quickly – first one line only and then the whole circuit. Lüthi, who was strong the entire second session, occupied a first position almost throughout ahead of local Schrötter and his biggest Moto2 title contender Franco Morbidelli. A great start for the Swiss rider, who took seven podiums in eight races so far this season. The young Spaniard Iker Lecuona (Garage Plus Interwetten) was learning the German circuit, whilst his teammate from Zurich Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten) did not find the same good feeling this afternoon as he had in the morning. The boss, Frédéric Corminboeuf, sums up the day: “It was a really good day for Tom. This morning, as everyone else, he had to get used to the new surface. In the afternoon, after it had rained, the track was still slippery but Tom’s pace was very strong even with used tyres. Iker was learning the track, which is not easy, because it is not similar to any other circuit. Jesko arrived motivated here and he did well this morning but was unable to increase his pace in the afternoon. I now expect more from him, he has to improve his race weekend preparation.”
Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten, 1st):
“This morning was interesting because no one knew how the bikes would behave on the new surface. I did a lap on foot on Thursday… in the rain.. and it seemed grippy for my feet. They did an excellent job. The bumps are gone but as many of my friends I struggled to understand the new surface this morning. It was quite funny because it was impossible to “read” the grip in some areas. After the rain this afternoon the grip was a bit worse and I was surprised myself with my pace. Each time I came past my pit board, I was P1 or P2, although I had a feeling that I was sliding a lot and not improving. This is definitely a good start to the weekend but it is impossible to predict how things will unfold because the weather seems very tricky.
Sachsenring (Germany). German GP Moto2, free practice (2 sessions): 1. Lüthi (SWI, Kalex, carXpert Interwetten), 1’24.848 (155.700 km/h); 2. Schrötter (GER, Suter), +0.046; 3. Oliveira (POR, KTM), +0.128; 4. Morbidelli (ITA, Kalex), +0.229; 5. Bagnaia (ITA, Kalex),+ 0.232; 6. Nakagami (JPN, Kalex), +0.370; 7. Cortese (GER, Suter), +0.431; 8. Corsi (ITA, Speed Up), +0.499; 9. Aegerter (SWI, Suter), +0.506; 10. A. Marquez (SPA, Kalex), +0.570. Then: 25. Lecuona (SPA, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), +1.858; 27. Raffin (SWI, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), +1.929. 32 classified.
