RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP returns home after disappointing Sunday in Malaysia
The race day of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit has come to a disappointing end. Zonta van den Goorbergh was involved in a crash by another rider as early as the first lap, virtually ending his race very early on. Barry Baltus finished outside the points after a difficult race in very hot conditions.
Starting from 14th and 16th on the grid, the starting positions were promising for a good result in the Moto2 race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. While Barry Baltus made a good start and moved up several positions, Zonta van den Goorbergh immediately lost multiple places. A few moments later, the Dutchman was taken out by another rider which meant a good result was no longer on the cards.
Van den Goorbergh did not give up and stayed on track after some repairs by the team to at least gather some information. Baltus could not continue his good start and dropped back during the race, eventually crossing the finish line in eighteenth place.
Barry Baltus – P18: “It was a frustrating race for me. I had a great start and was close to the top ten in the first corner but after a few laps I lost some positions. It’s difficult to understand what exactly went wrong, so we’ll need to find that out. We try to remain positive and end the season on a good note, I will push hard again in Barcelona in two weeks’ time. It will be quite difficult there with the low grip level so we’ll have to find something there.”
Zonta van den Goorbergh – DNF:“ It is very unfortunate to be taken out by another rider right away on the first lap. I was hit hard from behind and there was nothing left to save. I definitely think it could have been a good race, we showed this weekend that we were quite strong. It’s disappointing that we can’t take home a result but there’s nothing we can do now. We have to keep looking at the positives, fortunately we have another chance this year to finish the season well and go into the winter break with a nice result.
I want to thank the team for their hard work today because I came in twice, once for the damage from the crash and once for a brake problem as a result of the crash. They fixed it both times in the heat and did not decide to retire the bike, so huge appreciation for that. They accepted my request to continue and I definitely think it was useful to gather some more information. After that, I managed to set one of the fastest lap times even with the problems we had, which showed that the speed was really there. Thanks to the team for that.”
Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “It certainly was not our day today, it could be described as a deception. It started at Turn 1 where Zonta lost several positions in the melee and two sectors later he was hit from behind by another rider, resulting in a crash on the first lap. That was a real shame because we have seen a lot of speed from him multiple times this weekend. With the feeling he had before the race it was very much possible to get a very nice result. It is a huge pity that you are taken out by a crash you can’t do anything about, but that is also part of racing. We have to move on and take the positives to the last Grand Prix.
Barry got away well at the start and moved up to 13th place but he couldn’t maintain that pace, and he dropped back again. It ended up being quite a difficult weekend for him as he struggled a lot with the heat and lack of grip. Unfortunately, such a race then does not end the way we had hoped. Now it’s time to return to Europe and start preparing for the next race. That is in Barcelona as a replacement for Valencia and will be held on the same date. There we will finish the season as best we can.”
The last Grand Prix of 2024 will be held on the weekend of 15-17 November at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which also hosted a Grand Prix in May.