By finishing seventh in the GP of the Americas, on the spectacular Austin circuit, Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) had to cede his position as leader of the Moto2 world championship to Briton Sam Lowes.
In the fight for the podium for a good part of the race, the Swiss lost all his chances in the last two laps. The feat of the day, on the Swiss level, was signed by Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten), who finished fourth and thus strengthened his fifth place in the provisional championship standings. In the lead during the first meters, “Domi” fought like hell in a peloton where we did not give each other the slightest gift, touches to boot. No success for the third driver of the Swiss “dream team”, Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten); off to a good start, the young Friborg rider was in 18th position when he was hit by Luca Marini, the half-brother of Valentino Rossi. A visit to the circuit's medical center reassured him: apart from three stitches placed on his left hand, there was no fracture.
Summary of a day full of events with the boss, Frédéric Corminboeuf: “For once, we're going to start with Robin, who was a shadow of himself during the two days of testing, but who made me happy at the start of the race, by fighting, overtaking opponents and by quickly setting his personal best time on this circuit. He can't do anything about this fall, too bad, he deserved better. Dominique was true to himself, very combative, in the leading group from start to finish, even if he unfortunately lost contact with Zarco at the wrong time, due to yet another aggressive action by one of his companions fight. The speed is there, the pace has been good, the podium is close. For Tom, I would call it a missed opportunity: he had the opportunity today to defend his leadership by getting on the third step of the podium, when he started to make a few small errors when braking at the end of the race. However, it is not far at all, we confirm that our two drivers are capable of playing leading roles in this championship at a higher level than ever. We are already experiencing and we will continue to experience a fabulous season. »
They said…
Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten, 4th) “Today, the podium was possible. My start was excellent. Unfortunately – and this is the fate of those who arrive in the lead at the top of this impressive first climb – I had no reference point to brake and I went a little too far. The first two – Rins and Lowes – didn’t wait for us and ended up with Zarco. I was a little faster than him, but he was very difficult to overtake. Then, this group was formed, with experienced and very, very aggressive pilots. It was a real war with some people. I momentarily lost some of my concentration, because I wanted too much to study the strong points and weak points of my companions. When I regained my composure, Zarco was gone. Too bad, because I would have liked to give a podium to Diego, the mechanic who takes care of my tires, who had the pain of losing his father in the night and who left the paddock this morning to go to Italy. The duel with Corsi? With him, it was more than limited: he believes that we can constantly jump on people and that they will move away; if, at least three times, I had not opened the door for him, I would finish my race like Nakagami, who fell. Three races in the top five is the goal, we are at the forefront and I have to say a huge thank you to my entire team, who works extremely hard. »
Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten, 7th) “I am of course very disappointed and not happy at all. At the start of the race, I found a good rhythm, I felt good, but in the last laps, I just couldn't brake the way I wanted, the front was sliding, refusing to enter the corners . So I was forced to let my bike slide towards the outside and that, in a duel, is unforgivable. And everyone saw that it wasn't just duels today, but a big fight. The biggest disappointment was that when I found myself third and momentarily managed to open a small gap, I told myself it was going to hold, but no. With Corsi, I tried to counter one last time in the final round, in vain. I certainly had pain in my right arm, which has been permanently diminished since my accident during winter testing in 2013, but elbow pain is no excuse. »
Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, abandonment, fall) “Three stitches on the top of my left hand and, according to American doctors, there are no fractures, so much the better. What to say? I had a very good start and strong first laps, when Luca Marini attacked me and literally “cut me in two”. Too bad, because I finally had good feelings. »
