Best race yet for Salom as he just misses out on his first victory

Everybody at RW Racing GP was holding their breath as Luis Salom was going into the last lap leading the race. The Spaniard just missed his first victory, finishing second behind his compatriot Maverick Viñales. Actually it was German Sandro Cortese – finishing third – who kept Salom away from victory. A fierce duel between Cortese and Salom gave Viñales the chance to get away with just half a lap to go.

The Moto3 race of the British Grand Prix was a fantastic battle from start to finish. Already in the first lap Luis Salom was in the front, moving up from sixth on the grid to take the lead. A solid group of nine riders was formed after five laps, with all of them swapping positions all the time. Salom was battling steady in the first part of the group, with Effren Vazquez, Maverick Viñales and Alexis Masbou.

After ten laps a group of four was left of the bigger group: Salom, Viñales, Cortese and Masbou. And they were fighting at the limit. The slightest mistake was punished by the others. Masbou couldn’t keep up with that and had to drop back, leaving the fight for victory to Viñales, Salom and Cortese.
Salom was leading when the trio entered the last lap, but was soon overtaken by Viñales. Also Cortese tried to overtake, forcing Salom to get off his line just a little bit. This gave Viñales the chance to get away, leaving Salom second and Cortese third.

Luis Salom (2nd): “What a race! My bike was really fast. We made a good step with the new chassis and fairing. I knew beforehand it was possible to win, but I also know how difficult it is to beat Maverick. I had it all made up in my head already what I had to do in the last lap. But Sandro messed it up a bit. I feel I am really close to my first victory. It is just there, within reach. Hopefully I can do it next race in Assen, the home race of my team.”

Team manager Johan Stigefelt: “Luis had a great race. He has never been so close to a victory. He had a fantastic battle. I’m sure he will win a race soon. He was strong all weekend. In Barcelona we had problems with the new chassis, but we kept on working on it and believing in it. I’d like to thank Kalex, KTM and the whole team for all the effort. Brad will get the new chassis in Assen.”

Source: RW Racing GP Press Release