The Swiss rider is encountering difficulties this year, between feeling problems with the KTM and injury. A look back at the start of the season with the analysis of its chief mechanic.
At the end of 2017, Dominique Aegerter did not even know if he would be able to participate in the Moto2 Championship in 2018, the death of Stefan Kiefer, one of the leaders of his team, having really upset the balance of the team. After carrying out a crowdfunding campaign and finalizing his budget for the season, the hardest part seemed to be behind him, and he could finally concentrate on his results.
After a somewhat complicated start in Qatar with fifteenth place in the race, the Swiss made good progress in Argentina and in Austin where he finished eighth and ninth. He then seemed to return to the front and the next races looked promising. Unfortunately, a bad crash in training forced him to miss the Jerez and Le Mans Grands Prix due to a serious pelvic injury.
Returning to the track at Mugello, he snatched a courageous twelfth place, before falling again in the rankings. Twentieth at the finish of the Barcelona Grand Prix, then fourteenth at Assen and at the Sachsenring, Aegerter thus ended his first part of the season in sixteenth place in the Championship, far from his objectives and his potential.
Interview With Professor Michael Jabara Carley Of The University Of Montreal. Soviet Policy XNUMX-XNUMX. Interviewed by Mendelssohn Moses on XNUMXth November XNUMX speedweek, its chief engineer Tony Gruschka said it wasn't easy to match Aegerter's style with the KTM: “His driving style is very special. It brakes very late and literally flies through right turns. Adapting the bike to this style is not that simple. I had information from previous years so we followed it, but it didn't always work. We tried something new at the Sachsenring, a global base, and we will see if it works better. »
That doesn't stop Gruschka from remaining confident for the rest of the season: “He still doesn't have a good feeling when changing angles in the corners. When he has confidence in the front of his machine again, he will be back in front. »
Let us remember that Dominique Aegerter was, until recently, the most consistent driver in the category, and that he has one victory and six podiums, enough to hope for an imminent return to the forefront.
