Baldassarri runs away with victory in race two
Lorenzo Baldassarri destroyed the opposition to win a soaking wet and freezing cold Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Silverstone on Sunday. The 14 year old Italian shot off into the lead and though chased by yesterday’s winner, 15 year old Austrian Lukas Trautmann, he was never headed and won by 11 seconds.
Third man home was 16 year old Frenchman Alan Techer who started from pole position and had great battle for third with 17 year old Czech Tomas Vavrous that went in his favour when Vavrous crashed on lap 9. He rejoined the race in 7th and had got back up to 6th when he slid off again but still remounted to finally finish 10th.
Ivo Lopes, the 14 year old Portuguese who was 2nd on Saturday had a lonely ride into 4th place. He was well clear of a great battle between Javier Pinsach and Stefano Valtulini that went to the 15 year old Spaniard when Valtulini, the 14 year old Italian, made a mistake on the last lap and lost 4 seconds.
Cup leader Arthur Sissis, the 15 year old Australian, saw his points lead slashed to 5 as he crossed the line 6th after an intense struggle with 14 year old Spaniard Josep Garcia who had got in front of Sissis but fell just before the finish. The ex motocrosser was taken to the medical centre and diagnosed with a broken right collarbone.
“My worst weekend in 3 years of Rookies Cup,” said Sissis. “I had no feeling at all, I didn’t feel good, the bike didn’t feel good, just 5 points lead in the Cup, forget the weekend and move on,” He concluded.
Obviously Baldassarri had a very different reaction. “I am very happy, it was a great race, I made a good start and I immediately found a good feeling. I was very comfortable going at that speed and I only had a slide on the first lap when I ran on the grass, after that everything was OK. I looked behind and could see Lukas there but I was not worried, I was getting cold and wet but I knew I could win if I didn’t make any mistakes.”
Trautmann accepted that 2nd was not a bad way to end the weekend after yesterday’s victory. “The start was good and when I saw Lorenzo have his big slide on the first lap I was able to catch him. But that was also a warning about how easy it was to make a mistake in these slippery conditions and I really didn’t want to make a mistake. He was so fast in a couple of sections that I realised it was not possible to go with him and I was happy with second. I watched my pit board that my father was showing and when it showed that I was being caught a little I increased speed and I could see it only varied up and down by a few tenths so that was OK.”
Techer had been disappointed with 6th on Saturday and was thrilled to get on the podium. “I enjoyed that race much more, we made some changes to the bike after the race yesterday and I had much better feeling. It was a fun race with Tomas and when he went I was alone and happy just to get on the podium.”
Sissis wasn’t the only one who wants to forget the weekend, Brad Binder had the same thought. “I even had a crash going out on the sighting lap as Philipp Oettl highsided in front of us. I banged my head on the barrier and hurt my hand which was painful all race. I got a great start though and was going for it, feeling great… until I crashed. I came into the pits to have the handlebars straightened and then did a few more laps but something was jamming and I had to stop again,” concluded the 15 year old South African who had been on pole in Jerez and Estoril, had a 2nd and a 1st at those 2 rounds but has now slipped to 7th in the title chase only gaining a single point this weekend.
With 6 of the 14 races run there are many points still to claim, the first are on offer in 2 weeks at Assen on June 24th and 25th.
Race 2 Classification
1. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) 33 minutes 49.359 seconds
2. Lukas Trautmann (AUT) +11.371
3. Alan Techer (FRA) +19.820
4. Ivo Lopes (POR) +42.599
5. Xavier Pinsach (ESP) +49.188
6. Stefano Valtulini (ITA) +53.719
7. Arthur Sissis (AUS) +1’09.500
8. Hafiq Azmi (MAS) +1’26.608
9. Max Enderlein (GER) +1’33.716
10. Tomas Vavrous (CZE) +1’56.474
Source: Red Bull Rookies Cup