Faubel and Moncayo looking for solutions to be back in the top ten

The final contest up on a modified Grand Prix schedule in Estoril was the Moto3 race, taking to the track after the MotoGP riders had done their thing in Portugal. In dry conditions, the race saw victory go to German Sandro Cortese, ahead of Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom. The packed grandstands of the Portuguese autodrome were treated to an exciting event in the new Grand Prix racing class.

BANKIA ASPAR rider Héctor Faubel started the race from ninth place on the grid, hoping to latch onto the leaders in the early going. That he did, until rookie Romano Fenati clipped his bike and forced him off line, conceding positions as a result. He was able to continue, but the contact cost him the chance to ride with those further up the order and he eventually came home in twelfth.

Teammate Alberto Moncayo took off from seventeenth and took things more slowly at the start, lacking feel with his Moto3 machine. The Spaniard was in the same position as he had started by lap six, before making a gradual push to gain three places and claim two World Championship points.

Faubel is tenth in the Moto3 standings on 15 points, whilst Moncayo in eleventh on 13. Both will be looking to add to that at the next round, the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

12th Héctor Faubel: “I did not have a good start, remaining in the same position as I had taken on the grid. I was up with the frontrunners for eight laps, but then Fenati made contact with me and that pack escaped. I think that I spent too long on a change, which is where they got away. I was then part of a second group, which had many more battles for position and slower times as a result. If I were to have broken free, I would have gone two seconds a lap faster. I am angry, because I think that this result could have been a lot better.”

14th Alberto Moncayo: “That was a difficult race. My start wasn’t great and it was hard for me to pick up the pace. I started to go faster later, but in a group in which everyone is tripping over themselves to lead the pack you lose all progress. I ended up riding a second slower when amongst that group. After 23 laps I put in my fastest time. I also think that we made a mistake in running a hard front, because I didn’t have a good feel under heavy braking. This is becoming difficult, because we are not developing the potential that we had in preseason. We are going to try a few things and will arrive at Le Mans with more hunger, ready to fight for better positions.”

Source: Aspar Team