Luis Salom takes 4th in Valencia finale, Maverick Viñales crashes out

The 2014 Moto2 season came to an end this Sunday afternoon at the circuit of Valencia. The riders of the Páginas Amarillas HP 40, Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom, made their debut in the Moto2 class this year and despite their inexperience in this class, they displayed some great performances.

Maverick gained the title of Rookie Of The Year and finished the season as third in the championship. He also broke the record of points achieved by a debutant in one season, a record previously held by Marc Marquez. Viñales’ teammate Luis Salom also had a good season, achieving two podiums and finishing in an overall 8th place as the second best rookie.

Today, Viñales started from position eight on the grid and could not continue his marvelous winning streak that he started in Aragon. Maverick crashed out of the race on lap one and unfortunately too Finish rider Mika Kallio with him into the gravel. This wasn’t the way in which he and the team had hoped to end this fantastic season.

His teammate Salom started just behind Maverick and he also saw himself involved in a first-lap incident. He got hit by French rider Rossi, which resulted in the front brake protector folding over and the brake lever moving.

Salom lost some time due to this incident which, thanks to his fantastic pace, he was able to make up lap by lap. He finished this last race of the year in fourth place, just outside the podium positions.

Luis Salom – 4th place
At the beginning of this race I touched with Rossi and the front protector and the brake lever moved. I had to try and fix it to continue the race. I’m happy with the result. We did a good race and had a good comeback. At the start of the season we had some good races, always riding in the top group, and we achieved two podiums. We were even very close to winning the Italian GP. Then the crash in Montmelo happened and we lost confidence and the feeling with the bike. Since then we have been working hard and the last few races we started to get back to where we used to be. This last result gives us a good feeling and motivation to work hard during the winter break. The team has always helped me a lot and I’d like to thank them for this.

Maverick Viñales – DNF
I was turning onto the finish straight, I had Aegerter as a reference in front of me and tried to catch him on the brakes. I didn’t see Kallio who came past me on the outside. I had to brake very hard and I lost the front and crashed into him. I’m very sorry for him, because I made both of us crash. With regards to the season, I think we’ve done some great work. I grew a lot this year in every aspect and I’d like to thank the team. They’ve helped me a lot in every moment and I learned a lot through them.

Source; Pons Racing