It is as a great champion that Lucas dominated this entire first round of the World Championship in Australia, both in practice and in the race. He clearly showed that he had the firm intention of renewing his world title and he was perfect because he could not do better at Phillip Island.
From Friday, on his R6 entered by the GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team, Lucas took the lead in 1'33.103, 0.400 ahead of second Randy Krummenacher, an already significant gap. For Mahias, “ This Friday was a very good day! I finished first overall and my pace was very good, which is a positive sign ahead of Saturday's qualifying. The problem with Phillip Island is that the information we got during the test is not relevant to the race, especially in the 600, because the slipstream can play such a big role here and you often see seven or eight riders battling it out. For victory. It always goes until the last bend!
“For Saturday, my goal is to start from the front because it's better for the race, but maybe it will rain. I managed to do about ten laps in the wet today and set the fastest time, so regardless of the weather I feel confident for Saturday. »
To Philip Conti, the GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team Manager, “ The first day of testing went very well! Lucas put in a great performance and I'm very happy because he looks really comfortable on the bike and it seems like he can do what he wants with it, which is very important for him to ride to its full potential."
Pole position on Saturday
Lucas took first place on the grid with a time of 1'33.160, again with a significant gap of 0.359 over second, his teammate Federico Caricasulo. According to Mahias, “ It was very difficult because there was a lot of wind, in a different direction from before. I saved three or four falls, which is not my habit. I'm very happy with this pole because it's a good start to the season, and my teammate Federico Caricasulo is second. »
Lucas' time and position were fantastic, but there were some pretty serious tire problems. Mahias reacted: “I'm angry and I'm afraid. It is not normal for many drivers to blow their tires. Last year, we had exactly the same problem: it still works like that on Phillip Island. I tried before the weekend to persuade everyone to take the safe option. The tire explodes after eight laps, after nine laps, this is not a good solution, it is about the safety of the driver, life is more important than a race. » Have you also had tire problems? " No, Mahias pointed out. “But I always only drove two, three or five laps, but my teammate Caricasulo also blew the tire. I spoke a lot with Pirelli yesterday, to reduce the race distance, but it is not a solution, not a good solution.”
Flawless domination
On Sunday, Lucas Mahias was the fastest to start ahead of Kenan Sofuoglu, Federico Caricasulo and Luke Stapleford. Then the race was stopped at the red flag (removing the need for a stop to change tires). At the second start, Mahias started in the lead ahead of Sofuoglu, Caricasulo, Krummenacher, Cresson and Cluzel. Lucas Mahias managed to open a gap of one second on Kenan Sofuoglu, then he completely dominated the race which he won with 1.274 over Krummenacher, thus seizing the initial leadership of the World Championship. It was a perfect weekend!
“Today's race was incredible and I'm very happy to have won, Lucas smiled. I was ready for the flag to flag race, so I was a little gutted when the red flag came out as I already had a 2 second lead. I managed to keep calm and in the restarted race I tried to do the same thing which was to push a lot at the start and then manage the tire.
“I was a little worried because I hadn't managed to do many long runs this weekend, so I wasn't sure how the tire would hold up, but I was delighted to win the race!
“It was an incredible weekend for me. I won the last race of 2017 from pole position in Qatar, so to start 2018 the same way was incredible. I'm looking forward to Thailand, although it may be difficult for the bike because it's so hot there. Last year I had to abandon the race, but now I feel very relaxed and confident because the bike is good, we don't feel any stress in the team and I am very excited for the second round! »
Filippo Conti (the team manager) was also smiling: “This Sunday was an incredible day and I am very satisfied. Lucas was great! In the first race he showed sensational pace to escape at the start and, incredibly, he managed to do exactly the same in the race restarted after the red flag. He was so fast it was impossible to catch him and the team did an incredible job. »
Photos © Yamaha Racing
