Located a few hours' drive from the city of Dresden, the Sachsenring circuit hosted the German Grand Prix this weekend, the 9th meeting of the 2016 season.
This meeting on German soil also marked the return of Loris Baz to competition. The Frenchman found himself sidelined from the circuits after seriously injuring his right foot during the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
After making a positive return on Friday and consolidating it on Saturday, Loris was hoping for rain this Sunday and his wish was granted. The rain fell on the Sachsenring at the start of the race and stopped after a few laps. At the end of an eventful race, Loris is already planning on the test on the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria, Tuesday and Wednesday, to prepare for his second part of the season. He will then benefit from a few days of rest and training before resuming next August.
“A very complicated race from the start. It was raining on the grid and very logically we thought that the track would not dry out so quickly. We started the race with the tire I felt good on during warmup, the softest. After a few laps the rain stopped and the tires started to heat up. Because of this, I no longer had any feeling going forward.
I couldn't wait to stop and change bikes. After going to the box, I left with a slick tire on the rear. The track changed lap after lap and I almost fell several times. Unfortunately, there was a little misunderstanding about the choice of tires when I had to stop. So I changed bikes again to switch to intermediate tires. Being two laps behind, I didn't take any unnecessary risks until the finish.
It's not the race I was hoping for, especially after leading the warmup for a long time in the wet. We had found good settings for the race and everything was shaping up as it should if the conditions had been the same in the race. I think without these problems I could have scored points.
I didn't expect such a difficult weekend for a recovery. We had issues that we were able to resolve. Then, I couldn't ask too much because of my foot. We will take advantage of the test on Wednesday and Thursday in Austria to get back on the right path. This test will be very important and will condition the second part of the season.
After this test, I will continue training while taking a few days off. It's quite simple to combine the two during the summer to get back in great shape. »
