Points for Fieten Olie Racing GP in challenging Spanish Grand Prix
Barry Baltus scored points in the Moto2 race at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto on Sunday afternoon. The Belgian rider crossed the finish line in 13th place after a tricky opening phase, scoring three world championship points. Zonta van den Goorbergh faced physical problems and crossed the finish line in 23rd.
Baltus was unable to capitalise on his good starting position and immediately lost several places in the opening phase. His brake protector was bent, causing it to get in the way and the Belgian could not brake properly as a result. In the end he was able to maintain his pace and position, finishing thirteenth. With these three world championship points scored, Baltus is now seventeenth in the championship.
Van den Goorbergh managed to hold his position in the opening phase of the race but after about five laps he suffered from arm pump. With the loss of strength in his right arm, the 17-year-old rider was unable to ride his pace from the practice sessions, finishing the race in 23rd place.
Barry Baltus – P13: “This was not the race I was expecting. We did well in qualifying but not in the race, so that’s disappointing. In general we had a good weekend, just in the race we were missing something. In the first lap my brake protector was hit and it prevented me from braking in the right way. We need to continue in the way we are working right now and then I am sure the results will come.”
Zonta van den Goorbergh – P23: “It’s a pity how the race went today, we expected more from it. After five laps I started suffering from arm pump, I had that problem during the practice sessions as well. I tried to compensate for the lack of strength in my arm but for 21 laps that is not doable. After such a weekend, where we showed great things, more could have been possible so that’s why it’s very unfortunate that we finished like this. Now we have to see what we can do about this and then we are already focusing on Le Mans again.”
Jarno Janssen – Fieten Olie Racing GP team manager: “After yesterday, this was a bit of a disappointing race for both riders. It was difficult, Barry couldn’t get into his rhythm at the start and that made it hard to make some overtakes later on in the race. He finished thirteenth, which did achieve our goal of just finishing another race in the points.
Zonta suffered from arm pump during the race, which meant he could not maintain his pace. That is very unfortunate but on the other hand we have seen very strong performances from both riders this weekend, which is good and gives us confidence. We have to take that into the next race.”
The next Grand Prix on the calendar is the French Grand Prix which will be held at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans on the weekend of 12-14 May.