Cardus shines in the Portuguese rain
QMMF Racing Team riders Mashel Al Naimi and Ricky Cardús showed their true talent when it started to drizzle in the second free practice session for the Portuguese Grand Prix. In treacherous conditions – the 4.1 kilometre track of Estoril was neither dry nor wet, just moist and very slippery – 27-year-old Al Naimi rode to eleventh position, his best performance in Grand Prix racing so far.
At the same time, 23-year-old Spanish team-mate Cardús stunned the audience when he conquered the lead on the scoreboard and dropped back to second place only after a crash in the closing stages of the session.
Ricky Cardús (2 °, 1.51,960 / wet – 11 °, 1.42,991 / dry)
“Today I wanted to finish among the best and I have spent as much time as possible on track, we need experience to get closer to the leaders. I wanted to improve, so I pushed to the maximum and I was first for a long time. Bad luck, later a silly crash for a trivial reason; I lost a piece of fairing and then the control. This is the competition, we are human, small mistakes can happen… I’m very happy with the team, with their effort and enthusiasm to make results like today possible.”
Luis Soldano, team coordinator: “When it started to rain at the beginning of the second session, we decided to go out on the track because our riders need to do laps in all sorts of conditions. Even in the first 20 minutes, with just two or three riders on the track, Ricky showed his determination and speed. He is fast and comfortable in the rain, and he had an especially good feeling in today’s conditions without the track being really soaked. The crash at the end of the session was not his fault: A part of the front fairing had come loose and somehow got between the brake lever and the throttle – he just wasn’t able to use the front brake any more!”
Source: QMMF Racing