Tom Lüthi crashes while fighting for the victory in Germany
Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten) was the only rider in the Moto2 class who scored points in every Grand Prix since the opening round of the season in Qatar. His incredible streak was suddenly over on lap twelve out of twenty-nine of this German Grand Prix on the circuit of Sachsenring, while he was fighting for the victory once again with Franco Morbidelli. After a perfect start, Tom was immediately in the leading group that included also Sandro Cortese from Germany and Alex Marquez from Spain at the beginning of the race (the latter also crashed out of the race). The two provisional leaders of the 2017 classification set such a strong pace that they were already gone when Lüthi lost the front on a small bump as he was trying to take the lead back from Morbidelli. The Swiss rider escaped uninjured, but his bike was too damaged for the track marshals to allow him to go back out. Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten) had a solid performance in this spectacular race as he climbed through the pack from twenty sixth to finish in sixteenth position, unfortunately one position off the points. Iker Lecuona (Garage Plus Interwetten) had a good second part of the race but finished in twenty first position overall. The manager of the two Swiss teams, Frédéric Corminboeuf, comments: “We used our joker today. I am sure that the second half of the season will be great as we will keep working just as hard as until now. When you are at this level, crashing is a part of the game. For Tom it was just a small problem with the gear shifter, a narrow gap and he found himself on this small bump. It is done and it’ s what it is. I am still persuaded that we can fight for the title. After a few days off, we will start the second half of the season with a test in Brno in two-weeks’ time. Jesko had a good race, although it was difficult for him during the initial stages. He went out there to fight the way we asked him to, unfortunately he missed out on the cherry on top - the world championship point but I am sure that he will make the most of the summer break now. Iker had a small trip off the track and was a bit hesitant after that before he increased his pace. The presence of Garzo, another young Spaniard coming from the CEV series, has shaken him up a bit. However, I am sure that we can expect positive things from him in the future.”
He said…
Thomas Lüthi (carXpert Interwetten, DNF) :
”The front locked when the rear was still slightly angled. I rode over a small bump that made me lose balance. It is a pity because I was so close to saving it with my knee and my elbow. Of course we will feel these 0 points in the championship but it is not a reason to lose our mind or put everything into questions. We have been doing an exceptional job since the beginning of the season and what we found during the test in Catalunya allows us to be even more competitive. Today I was better than Morbidelli in sector 1 and 2 but he dominated the third sector. The battle was strong once again. Hats off to him. This is racing.. and there are still nine races remaining in the autumn!”
Sachsenring (Germany). German GP Moto2: 1. Morbidelli (ITA, Kalex), 29 laps, 41’05.137 (155.400 km/h); 2. Oliveira (POR, KTM), +0.066; 3. Bagnaia (ITA, Kalex), +0.574; 4. Corsi (ITA, Speed Up), +0.749; 5. Pasini (ITA, Kalex), +1.300; 6. Navarro (SPA, Kalex), +8.958; 7. B. Binder (RSA, KTM), +9.204; 8. Cortese (GER, Suter), +15.099; 9. Schrötter (GER, Suter), +17.875; 10. Nakagami (JPN, Kalex), +19.291; 11. Syahrin (MAL, Kalex), +20.767; 12. Gardner (AUS, Tech 3), +21.533; 13. Quartararo (FRA, Kalex), +24.635; 14. Siméon (BEL, Kalex), +27.357; 15. Manzi (ITA, Kalex), +27.411; 16. Raffin (SWI, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), +37.620. Then: 21. Lecuona (SPA, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), +52.511. DNF Lüthi (SWI, Kalex, carXpert Interwetten/crash) and Aegerter (SWI, Suter/technical problem). 24 classified.
World Championship Classification (9/18) (*): 1. Morbidelli, 174 points; 2. Lüthi (SWI, Kalex, carXpert Interwetten), 140; 3. Oliveira, 117; 4. A. Marquez (SPA, Kalex), 113; 5. Bagnaia, 78; 6. Pasini, 73; 7. Nakagami, 69; 8. Corsi, 53; 9. Aegerter, 50; 10. Schrötter, 44. Then: 25. Raffin (SWI, Kalex, Garage Plus Interwetten), 5. 29 classified.
(*): Pasini (ITA, Kalex) was disqualified from the Catalan Grand Prix where he finished in second position (petrol did not conform to the rules).
