M2: Spanish GP: Tech 3 race report

Tech 3 Racing close to podium in Jerez Moto2 classic Yuki Takahashi was less than three-tenths away from claiming a brilliant podium finish for the Tech 3 Racing Team in a classic Moto2 race at the Jerez circuit in Spain this afternoon. The ...

Tech 3 Racing close to podium in Jerez Moto2 classic

Yuki Takahashi was less than three-tenths away from claiming a brilliant podium finish for the Tech 3 Racing Team in a classic Moto2 race at the Jerez circuit in Spain this afternoon. The Japanese rider was locked in an intense fight for the top three throughout a nail-biting 17-lap race that was shortened from the scheduled 26-laps after being red flagged following an early multi-rider pile-up at the Curva Dry Sack.

Starting from the front row of the grid for the first time, Takahashi was never outside of the top five in a pulsating race as he engaged in a fierce battle with compatriot Shoya Tomizawa, Thomas Luthi, Kenny Noyes and eventual winner Toni Elias.

But as the race reached a thrilling climax, small front tyre grip issues prevented Takahashi from mounting a decisive late attack for the rostrum and he finished fourth, just 0.558s from the victory.

Takahashi's result moves him into the top ten in the world championship rankings and boosted his confidence of a victory challenge in the all-important home race for Tech 3 Racing at Le Mans later this month.

Raffaele de Rosa rode a determined race, the Italian gaining valuable set-up information on his way to 20th place.

Yuki Takahashi 4th -- 13 points

"That was a pretty exciting race and it was good to be involved in such an incredible fight at the front. After the disappointment of Qatar I'm really happy to have scored some good points, but I'm also a little bit frustrated because I really wanted to give the Tech 3 Racing Team its first podium finish in Moto2. There was lots of overtaking going on but when I really wanted to push and at least get into the top three, the front tyre just didn't feel as good as in the warm-up this morning. Track conditions and temperature obviously have a lot to do with that, so we'll look at the data and see how to improve. We lost a bit of turning performance too so I couldn't really attack with the confidence I wanted. But we have proved it is possible to fight for the podium and I've got to be happy with the result after Qatar. The next race is in France and will be a massive weekend for Tech 3 Racing, so I will be giving my maximum as always to try and achieve that first podium."

Raffaele de Rosa 20th -- 0 points

"It was important to finish the race and get some good information for the team and it was important for me to gain some experience in terms of the behaviour of the bike over a race distance. But it certainly wasn't the result I was hoping for. I expected a lot more but I had a problem with braking stability in the race. I was finding it difficult to keep the rear tyre on the ground when I was braking and that was costing me a lot of time. We have some ideas on how we can improve in this area and hopefully it will be better for Le Mans. The French Grand Prix is the home race for Tech 3 Racing so I will be giving all my effort to improve my position at Le Mans."

Herve Poncharal -- Team Manager

"It was a very exciting race and a fantastic advert for Moto2 racing. This is definitely a class that is going to keep everybody entertained with some incredibly close racing. It was a really strong race from Yuki because he was always in the top group and looking comfortable. It was a shame that was he so close to the podium and didn't quite make it, but after the disappointment of Qatar he did a great job and proved he can fight for the victory at every race. With Raffaele we need to understand what his problems are and try and help him close the gap to Yuki. We know he is a fast rider and we would like to see him further up the field. The next race is our home round in Le Mans where the team is really motivated to try and capture that first podium."