Mixed Fortunes In Mixed Conditions For BANKIA Aspar Squad
Rain wasn’t forecast for the 125cc Australian Grand Prix, but you can never predict the weather at Phillip Island. Just as the riders took to the grid, a five minute downpour converted the contest into a wet race, and the teams and riders had some tough decisions to make in the ten minute break to allow for tyre changes. Those on the front two rows of the grid opted for slicks, whilst the remainder of the riders went for wet weather tyres. One such rider was BANKIA Aspar’s Adrián Martín, who led the opening five laps until he was overtaken by eventual winner Sandro Cortese. The rain returned, the red flags came out and the race ended with the German as the winner in the 125cc class.
Nico Terol experienced nerves on the grid -understandable considering the conditions. The BANKIA Aspar rider lost thirteen places on the first lap, before pulling himself together and upping his pace from lap four onwards. He eventually took sixth place and added ten points to his total in the championship.
Héctor Faubel stormed off the line despite the adverse conditions, but suffered an exhaust problem later on in the race and had to settle for seventh. Teammate Adrián Martín led the first five laps on wet tyres before having to come in to change rubber when the track dried out.
6th Nico Terol:
“Today I had the hardest start of my career. There was a lot of tension on the grid and I tried to maintain concentration, knowing that the conditions were the same for everyone. However, when I took to the wet track with slick tyres I began to think too much. Fortunately my nerves gradually went away, and as I regained confidence I began to push in order to regain the lost places. I am happy, because I was able to move back up the field and the situation wasn’t as difficult as we had feared in the end. We minimised the consequences of a bad start. We hadn’t practiced in the wet and there was also a strong wind, so today was definitely a tough race. In the end I was able to find a good pace.”
7th Héctor Faubel:
“The start of the race was extremely hard -a real step into the unknown. It was difficult to keep focused when we were on the grid. Running on slicks on a wet track is very tricky. I got a good start in spite of the conditions, but lost my way a little bit as the track dried out. We found out later on that I had a small problem with the exhaust. Once I saw that I was out of the fight for the podium I concentrated on losing as few positions as possible. I am happy in general, because today was a strange day and we managed to finish the race in a good way.”
27th Adrián Martín:
“We started out with wet tyres and the uncertainty as to what the weather was going to do, and when the race was declared wet we stuck with our choice. I gained so many places on the opening lap that I crossed the line to end the opening lap in first place. I led the race for a few laps, but when the track dried out it was necessary to come in and change tyres. The gamble didn’t pay off in the end, but at least I experienced leading a World Championship race and know that we worked hard all weekend.”
Source: Aspar Media
