Van den Goorbergh achieves best result of the season with 11th place in Barcelona, P21 for Baltus
Zonta van den Goorbergh crossed the finish line ninth in the Moto2 race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday afternoon. The Dutchman received another Long Lap penalty at the end of the race, eventually finishing 11th. Barry Baltus ended a difficult weekend with 21st place.
After a good qualifying session on Saturday, Van den Goorbergh was highly motivated to get a good result in the 21-lap race. The Dutchman started well and had already gained two places on the first lap. On the second lap, he moved up another two places before getting into the battle for the top ten win. Conditions at the hot Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya were very tricky but Van den Goorbergh managed to hold his own. He eventually crossed the finish line in ninth place but received a time penalty due to a non-executed Long Lap penalty which meant he was classified 11th.
Starting from 30th on the grid, it was going to be a tough race anyway for Barry Baltus. The Belgian rider made up a few places in the early stages and managed to ride a consistent pace. Halfway through the race, he had reached nineteenth position but eventually finished in 21st place.
Zonta van den Goorbergh – P11: “We were able to fight for a place in the top ten again today. We proved again that we can be there and that is a very nice boost for the whole team for the upcoming races. We are getting closer and closer. I ended up finishing ninth in the race and I am very happy with that. We can go to Mugello with a good feeling.”
Barry Baltus – P21: “It was a very hard race for me today. I had a decent start and my rhythm in the opening laps was not too bad, but when the tyre dropped I had a horrible feeling with the bike. I tried everything but couldn’t ride the bike the way I wanted. We need to analyse this and improve for the next race. We’re in a very difficult period at the moment but we’ll need to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “We can be very pleased with Zonta’s result. He finished ninth and got a Long Lap penalty at the end of the race, but it is smart that he did not take it as it would probably have cost him even more time. It was a tough race but he fought like a lion, showing that he can compete with the best. I think that is a very positive result for him and of course it is for us as well. We are very satisfied.
On the other side of the box, it was a very difficult weekend. I said yesterday that not only technically but also physically and mentally everything has to be right in the Moto2 class, if not then you don’t compete. It is very difficult to see that someone is really struggling at such a moment, especially with himself. It is a difficult issue how we are going to solve that but I am confident that we will succeed. We will try to come back stronger next weekend with him.”
The riders and teams will immediately travel on to Italy where next weekend, from 31 May to 2 June, the seventh Grand Prix of the season will be held at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.