No rewards for Albert Arenas in Austin battle
Romano Fenati is back. The Italian rider, who missed the second half of last season, scored his first victory of the current campaign at the scene of his last one: Circuit of the Americas.
Fenati battled hard at the front with Aron Canet, who had dominated during practice only to crash spectacularly out of the race. The Spaniard had made an early break over the first laps before a red flag gave Fenati a second chance to strike.
The pair were some distance ahead of the field when Canet crashed, leaving Fenati clear for a comfortable win ahead of a group headed by Jorge Martín and Fabio di Giannantonio, who completed the podium in second and third respectively. Championship leader Joan Mir missed out on the podium for the first time this season in eighth place.
Mahindra Gaviota Aspar rider Albert Arenas fought in the group battling for points although in the end he missed out by a couple of seconds, crossing the line in 21st position. Arenas has made gradual progress over the course of the weekend and can reflect on his best finish of the season so far. The Spaniard insists there is still margin to find the limit of the bike and he is determined to get closer in the next round.
21st Albert Arenas:
“We have struggled to put a strong pace together since Friday. We have worked a few things out with the bike and worked hard to shave seconds off the lap time. We were the highest Mahindra on the grid and the plan for the race was to push hard and get a good start to hang on to the group in front. We finished just a couple of seconds outside the points and that is our first objective this season, which would give the team and the factory more confidence. We have made some positive progress from Friday to Sunday and if we can keep going like this at Jerez we will see even more. We need to find the limit with this bike and put everything together. We will keep trying.”