After shining in Japan, the Frenchman concluded the second meeting of the overseas tour at Phillip Island in 18th position.
The dreaded rain finally appeared among the protagonists on Sunday morning near Phillip Island at the start of the MotoGP warm-up for the Australian Grand Prix. After a complicated start to the weekend, Loris Baz took advantage of this final session to confirm some of his adjustments with the objective of scoring a few points at the finish of this event.
Positioned on the sixth row on the grid, the Frenchman took advantage of the good conditions to be incisive from the start and appear among the other Ducati representatives. Pushed off course by one of his opponents, the Haut-Savoyard unfortunately did not manage to rejoin the peloton.
Loris Baz, ranked 18th in the hierarchy under the checkered flag, is already focusing on the next meeting in Malaysia, determined to end the overseas tour on a good note.
Loris Baz (18th):
“It was a complicated race. Despite everything, I managed to get a good start. I was in a group including Abraham and Lorenzo. Redding pushed me off course twice. Unlike him, I was not able to rejoin the peloton.
“We really suffered from a lack of grip, the tires wore out quickly. However, I think we didn't have the right settings. It's a shame, because Phillip Island is a track that I particularly like and on which I am usually fast. During warm-up, we found some solutions on the wet track. It's not perfect yet, but we're on the right track.
“We will try to do better in Sepang. It's not my favorite circuit on the calendar, but we had a good race there last year with the Ducati, despite difficult conditions. We'll see if the bike works right away. Still, I will do everything to do well in the game.”
