Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) is definitely the man in form at the end of the season, in the Moto2 world championship. Winner of the Japanese GP six days ago in Motegi, the Swiss set the best time in qualifying on the Phillip Island circuit, in extremely difficult conditions.
Cold - 10 degrees in the air at the time of the decisive Moto2 session -, rain and violent wind, there were numerous falls, including those of Iker Lecuona and Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten), fortunately without physical consequences. At the forefront from the first minutes, Thomas Lüthi did not avoid a small alert, but he was able to pick up his bike and continue his work, offering himself as the icing on the cake his third pole position of the season, after Le Mans and Assen.
A performance which of course delighted the boss of CGBM Evolution, the structure which aligns the two Swiss teams, Frédéric Corminboeuf: “Even though we obtained, thanks to Tom, this fantastic pole position, I must admit that I was tense throughout the session. Having riders ride in such cold, with such violent wind, in such particular grip conditions, at 17 p.m. in the evening, was dangerous to say the least. Tom and his technical team were the bosses today, they made the right decisions at the right time, which is very exciting for tomorrow. Iker started his session very well, but then experienced a little more difficulty; It must be said that it was the first time that he was able to ride so much in the (almost) dry, here at Phillip Island, a circuit that we know is very complicated. He fell down and was angry with himself, but I reminded him that he was there to learn. Everything he discovers at the end of the season is for 2017. Robin was unlucky: he was on a super lap, 1 second behind Tom's time, when he fell at high speed into the final sector; the impact was quite violent to the head and we decided by mutual agreement with him that he would not return to the track. »
He said…
Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten, 1st) “This qualifying session was very special. When I saw on television how the sky had darkened at the end of the MotoGP practice, I was convinced that the rain would arrive after five or six minutes. So there was only one thing to do: get a good time from the start, to avoid any unpleasant surprises. But there you go, the track remained the same and perhaps I wouldn't have needed to take such risks! I fell without any harm, I was even able to continue my session without having to go through my stand, but the conditions were really very difficult; with this cold and the wind, it was almost impossible to keep the tires at a sufficient temperature. I feel very good at the moment, the races follow one another, it's very demanding, but I also manage, during the trips with the whole team, to recharge myself with positive energies. Now, we must not deceive ourselves: even if the weather forecast is a little milder for the race, no one has a real basis to work from, after these two days of testing marked by so many showers; the warm-up on Sunday morning will therefore be very important. »
