Falling twice at Misano on a wet track, the driver of the Reale Avintia Racing team fell just short of the points. Rain and thunderstorms were among the protagonists on Sunday during the San Marino Grand Prix at the emblematic Misano circuit. Comfortable in these conditions, Loris Baz had only one goal in mind, that of doing better, or as well, than the best career result in the premier category that he had established on this same track in 2015 .
The Frenchman, who started from the fifth row, had a perfect start since he was 13th in the hierarchy on the first pass before embarking on a dazzling comeback. Credited with fifth place in the seventh round, the Haut-Savoyard was trapped. Despite everything, he managed to get back on the handlebars of his Desmosedici GP15 to try to close his gap in the standings, but he unfortunately made a second mistake eight laps later.
The French pilot did not let himself be defeated, however, and for good reason. He got back on board his Italian machine to finish the stage in 16th position behind his compatriot Johann Zarco. After this weekend strewn with pitfalls, Loris Baz is already focusing on the next meeting in Aragón where he will be keen to score valuable points overall before the overseas tour.
Loris Baz (16th):
“The warm-up went really well, despite these difficult conditions. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same feeling for the race. It's a shame, because I think we could have had an excellent result. I had no grip at the rear and I almost fell numerous times before making a mistake the first time and losing the front. Despite everything, I had a good pace since I was sixth in the fight for fourth place.
“By jumping from this far, even if I'm careful, you have to take some risks and it didn't work this time. I was able to restart and managed to overtake Pedrosa and close the gap on Bautista. The bike having suffered some damage after my first fall, I notably lost my steering damper, I was trapped a second time. I just wanted to reach the checkered flag. MotorLand Aragón is a circuit where I have ridden a lot in WorldSBK. We will see if the base of settings we have works and if we can find a good feeling again. »
Photo credit: www.photoPSP.com
