With five Grands Prix remaining, Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez are strictly tied in the provisional standings of the World Championship with 199 points each, and Maverick Vinales has not said his last word, in third position with 183. In Moto2, only 9 points separate Franco Morbidelli from Tom Lüthi.
Suter has just won its first GP in Moto2 since Tom Lüthi's victory in Valencia in 2014. How is this victory for Dominique Aegerter perceived at Suter? As a single blow or as the start of the revival?
“Neither one nor the other, I think that for Moto 2 in particular every little detail is important, and as far as we at Suter are concerned, we can consider that we left with a lot of new things (new teams, drivers, motorcycles and technical chiefs) and on top of that the new regulations limiting the number of test days. So all of this put together increases the handicap to shine in this category where the competition is particularly strong. But we have seen Dominique Aegerter in particular start to perform for a few GPs. Marcel Schrotter was injured during the holidays and for him too it was starting to get better and better, let's hope he returns as soon as possible.
How did Dominique Aegerter, Kiefer Racing and Suter win this Misano race?
“As I explained previously, you have to put everything in place to succeed and that takes time, this is true for this victory. We had to bring together all the pieces of the puzzle and put them in order to then make it a reality, this race is the perfect demonstration of true teamwork.
There were a record 141 falls this weekend, and strangely almost as many in the dry in total as in the wet. How do you explain all these falls?
“The falls at Misano are a kind of legend for me. The circuit has the particularity that it is located by the sea and drivers have always had to deal with more or less random grip depending on the session times, some claim that this is the cause. Excuse me but to date I have not had scientific proof of these statements.
“To be more concrete, the layout of the circuit lends itself quite well: a lot of right turns, few left turns, entry into curves where you have to put the bike on an angle while still keeping the brakes a lot, the phenomenon of the track with its changing grip, and perhaps also that we are in the transfer period and for certain drivers it is absolutely necessary to show themselves, therefore greater risk taking. Add to that a very rainy Sunday, enough to delight fairing dealers!
Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Dovizioso, Michele Pirro and Jorge Lorenzo had great races (although brief for Lorenzo) with their Desmosedici. Carlo Pernat believes that the GP17 is clearly better than the Honda. Is this your opinion, and why?
“Wouldn’t there be a bit of chauvinism on Carlo’s part? Certainly the Ducati is more and more efficient, but to say that it is clearly better I will remain more nuanced.
“What is certain is that they put in a great performance, especially in the rain. Let's not forget, however, that Danilo Petrucci is one of the best in these conditions. And also that the Ducati seems very efficient with its rear axle (traction, tire management) which in these conditions is very clearly an advantage.
“On the other hand, the Marquez Honda pair is very, very formidable today. They seem to have found a little more stability. What they lacked until now, especially with the very aggressive driving of Marc Marquez.
Who do you see as MotoGP World Champion at the end of the season?
“Marc Marquez knows how to win, he is cunning, smart as a monkey and has great experience in winning championships.
“But the championship has never been so undecided as during this fairly crazy season full of twists and turns, so we will probably have to wait for Valencia to find out the champion!
And in Moto2?
“There it's easier, but I think that despite all the esteem I have for Thom Lüthi I would lean more towards Franco Morbidelli if he no longer makes too many mistakes. Because Tom is a metronome and this is probably his last opportunity to be crowned. »
Photo credit: Pramac Racing
