By Diana Tamantini / Motoracing
The Spanish driver made an incredible comeback during the Malaysian Grand Prix, after encountering a battery problem when taking the start.
Jaume Masia had an incredible Sunday on the Sepang circuit. Forced to start from the back of the grid after having encountered a problem when getting into position, he was able to move up the entire peloton to the podium. A demonstration which proves all the determination held by the Spaniard who, after a season of ups and (many) downs, will ride next year on the handlebars of the Honda left by Lorenzo Dalla Porta.
It all started well though. Qualified 11th, the 19-year-old rider could hope to quickly move up, but his hopes were suddenly dashed when his bike stopped due to a battery problem while he had just left his box to place himself on the Grid. Masia then thinks that his race has just fallen through, but his team manages to restart his machine. He then performs the warm-up lap starting from the pitlane and positions himself in 30th and last position on the grid.
From then on, his race turned into a real comeback. One, two, three, ten places and more, until you find yourself in the leading group. In the end, it didn't take much for him to grab the victory, but Dalla Porta had the last word. The Spanish driver then returned to the podium for the first time since Mugello. In tears in the arms of his team members once he arrived in the parc ferme, he cannot hide the tension that has just fallen, mixed with fatigue and the extreme heat.
Reduced to tears! ❤️
That was a truly superhuman effort from @jaume_masia! 👏#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/bSI4v0hANI
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) November 3, 2019
“And to think that I thought my race was lost”, did he declare. “I was last and I didn't have great pace. I thought I would get back into the points zone, and then thanks to Arenas' fall, I did more. Already during the warm-up I had a signal that the battery had almost stopped, but I hadn't paid much attention to it. During the reconnaissance lap, however, the motorcycle stopped. I wanted to go back to the gate to change it but I couldn't. »
“I had already taken off my gloves and my suit when they came to tell me that my bike was ready”, He said. “I ran suddenly. Since I thought it was over, I left calmly and just thought about what I had to do. It was the first time I raced at Sepang, last year I was injured. I only woke up in the last three laps to attack. I'm learning to manage my races better and I'm preparing for 2020."
Read the original article on Corsedimoto
