Tom Lüthi fantastic second in Qatar
The 2017 season started in the same way the previous one ended: with a very solid performance by Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten), who was classified second in the Grand Prix of Qatar, under the spotlight of the International Circuit of Losail, close to Doha. Starting third on the grid, Tom was immediately able to squeeze between Morbidelli and Alex Marquez before taking the lead on the second lap. Together with Morbidelli they pulled a small gap quite quickly before the Italian disappeared in the front. Lüthi then maintained his solid pace to secure his first distinction. Another highlight of the evening was Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten) and his superb race through the field to finish fourteenth in the end, scoring his first two world championship points in his new colours. “The season started well for us,” said Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of CGBM Evolution, the company that aligns the two teams on the Moto2 World Championship grid. “Tom and his whole team worked really hard these last couple of days. Lüthi was strong in the race, confirming his status of a championship contender in 2017. I also really enjoyed the debut of Jesko Raffin; he is an intelligent guy who listens, who understands and who perfectly managed his first Grand Prix with us. Now let’s head to Argentina!”
He said…
Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten, 2nd): “I felt really good from the start of the race. I had a good pace and was of the impression that I could easily stick with Morbidelli. But when Franco increased his pace, I saw that in some areas he was simply a bit faster than me. Then I focused on controlling Nakagami closing on me, which I managed really well. After a rather chaotic winter test with the number of crashes that we had, I am obviously very happy to start the season in this way. We are there and with a bike that we had to rebuild completely after my crash on Thursday evening. I would also like to say huge thanks, once again, to my team, who did an incredible job in the last couple of weeks.”
Losail (Qat). GP of Qatar Moto2: 1. Morbidelli (ITA, Kalex), 20 tours, 40’18.480 (160.100 km/h); 2. Lüthi (SWI, Kalex, carXpert Interwetten), à 2.681; 3. Nakagami (JPN, Kalex), à 3.304; 4. Oliveira (POR, KTM), à 3.584; 5. A. Marquez (SPA, Kalex), à 11.226; 6. Marini (ITA, Kalex), à 13.747; 7. Quartararo (FRA, Kalex), à 13.988; 8. Baldassari (ITA, Kalex), à 17.465; 9. Vierge (SPA, Tech 3), à 17.477; 10. A. Pons (SPA, Kalex), à 17.767; 11. Aegerter (SWI, Suter), à 17.802; 12. Bagnaia (Ita), Kalex, à 18.090; 13. Kent (GBR, Kalex), à 19.323; 14. Raffin (SWI, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), à 22.798; 15. Siméon (BEL, Kalex), à 24.009. Further: 23. Simón (SPA, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), 40.446. 29 classified.
