Heading into what should be his final season in Moto3, Alexis Masbou was radiant. Just think, a Frenchman on a machine called Peugeot, a very local one, tickles the senses, it gives a tremor in the voice and it calls for responsibility. No doubt, but if impossible, it's not French, it's Indian. Because the bike is none other than a Mahindra whose latest version is very far from being satisfactory.
We could even speak of a failure for this Mahindra which, not only is lacking in speed, but, in addition, has recurring problems with gearbox reliability. What's more, in the case of Peugeot - a name now Indian because Mahindra owns 51% of it - we evolve within a team formerly called Racing Team Germany whose protagonists, still in place, have not completely left of their financial concerns which are currently turning into a legal investigation.
In short, for Alexis Masbou, it's not the adventure to experience when you reach the age limit while the teammate McPhee is not better off. Fortunately for the Scot, there is rain which allows him to show his ease in the difficult conditions. We saw it in Argentina, with a seventh place finish which was nothing short of a miracle.
But for our double Grand Prix winner, lifeline is difficult to grasp. So he fights with what he has and in Austin, he fought hard to finish sixteenth: “ we had a good race there because our pace was not that far removed from the leading drivers. But that forced us to be at the limit all the time and riding like that every lap doesn't give you much margin for error. So I made mistakes and lost contact with the group in front of me ».
« I found my rhythm afterwards, but it was not fast enough to rejoin those who were fighting for the top 10. I fought to keep my place and I finished sixteenth, just outside the points, which which remains a disappointment. There is still something positive because I don't owe my place to accidents in front of me. We will go for the points in Jerez as well on a regular basis ».
Alexis Masbou so don't give up and if he shifts the speed of his Indian Peugeot, the team manager is not angry at Mahindra's inability to resolve its gearbox problems.
Terrell Thien don’t beat around the bush: “ All weekend in Austin, we were going in circles. Our drivers did what they could with what they had, but now Mahindra would have to do its homework. This box problem has been known for over a year. He now gives us a solution and immediately again. There are no more excuses to make because we have been working on this problem for weeks. Mc Phee had problems, Alexis was hampered by this problem, Jorge Martin at Aspar broke his box and Hanika's fall is undoubtedly due to that ».
The atmosphere is therefore tense in the Mahindra clan. Now, the same Thien finds some positive points: “ In Austin, we didn't suffer too much from the power. We had enough to stay in line with our opponents. But we still lack acceleration when exiting curves. The chassis isn't bad either. But the main problem is the transmission which drops to neutral too often ". Which is also a risk for pilots.
For one last one, Alexis Masbou is definitely not spoiled.
