They came, they saw and they conquered! Tom Lüthi and Marcel Schrötter behaved like the army of Julius Caesar this weekend in the USA, only relinquishing the leadership of the warmup to their opponents before finishing the race in the way they had dominated the first day. that is to say with a double.
The German team thus takes the lead in the Moto2 team rankings while its drivers Marcel Schrötter et Tom Luthi are now second and third in the World Championship, respectively 3 and 5 points behind a Lorenzo Baldassarri who recorded a blank result in Texas.
A more than beneficial operation, therefore, at the end of a solid race where the competition was mainly represented by Alex Marquez in the first part of the 18 laps to be completed (See here).
Tom Luthi : “I’m really, really happy!” When I went first under the checkered flag, I immediately started screaming into my helmet. It was an incredible feeling. It's amazing to get a win again and be back in front. The whole weekend went well. We had a good pace and I knew I could be fast. But the guy next to me in the garage was faster than me throughout testing and I think that wasn't too bad because it put a lot of pressure on me. We had to fight hard to find the right settings. I want to thank my team for this incredible effort and for the fact that we are back on top. Because of the blank result in Argentina, I knew I really needed points today and had to race smart. I got a good start and took second place from the start. Then I had to fight against Álex Márquez, who went back to the inside of the corner when there was no room, so we touched each other. He tried to leave me behind, but I managed to pass him and stay in front.”
Marcel Schrötter : “It wasn't an easy race, but I managed to get away from the group behind me quite early. I didn't have too much pressure from behind, which made the race easier because I could concentrate on what was happening in front of me. Then I made a small mistake in a corner and lost contact with Tom (Lüthi) and Álex (Márquez). While I was trying to catch up, Tom overtook Álex. Alex had already had some problems after a few laps and Tom was very fast. I tried to get away from Alex as quickly as possible. When I passed it, I widened it a little and it hit me pretty hard. I was lucky not to fall. It wasted my time and Tom left. When I finally passed Álex, I tried to catch up with Tom, but I couldn't go any faster. I tried to avoid mistakes, because the track was really difficult. I tried to increase the gap with the riders behind me, and I succeeded. In the end, I was a little disappointed, because I had the pace all weekend. But we are back in the leading group and that is important. I am confident that victory will come soon.”
Jürgen Lingg, Team manager: “To be honest, I haven't yet realized what just happened. First and second...we knew it was possible, but if you can do it, that's another story. Now, finally, we did it, but in a way I didn't expect. Both drivers were incredible. The others didn't have much luck against them. This surprised me a bit and it will take a while before I realize it. I have to congratulate the whole team. It’s so much fun this year and the chemistry is perfect. Everyone gives their all and works very professionally, and you can see that with the result. I’m really, really proud of all of us.”
Standings for the Moto2 Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin :
In the championship, Baldassarri maintains the lead with 50 points, ahead of Schrötter (47), Lüthi (45), Gardner (38) and Márquez (36).
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
