Marcel Schrötter takes #AustrianGP podium, Tom Luthi finishes 7th

The Moto2 class was able to start its fifth race of the season at the Red Bull Ring in perfect weather conditions. But after only three laps it had to be red-flagged as a result of a horrific mass crash. At that point, Marcel Schrötter had already left pole-setter Remy Gardner behind and was second chasing Jorge Martin. For the restart of the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which was shortened to 13 laps, Marcel Schrötter took second place and Tom Lüthi ninth position on the grid.

This time Gardner managed to escape Marcel Schrötter at the start and shortly afterwards, the current World Championship leader Marini passed the German. After Gardner landed in the gravel a few laps later, the rider with the number #23 moved up to the third place and did not give it away anymore until the finish line.

Tom Lüthi, who confidently took 2nd place in the warm-up on Sunday morning, made up three positions at the second race start at the Red Bull Ring, and battled against his team-mate in fourth and fifth position shortly after. But then the Swiss almost lost control of his front and slipped back to ninth place, where he fought for seventh position in a group with Aron Canet and Augusto Fernandez. He was able to win this fight with a final attack in the last lap and in the end, he was happy about nine championship points.

The hunt for points will already continue next weekend in Austria, when the Styrian Grand Prix will take place on the same track from August 21st to 23rd.

Marcel Schrötter
P3
Moto2 World Championship 2020 – P11 – 32 points

“We have been going through some really difficult weeks, even if we weren’t that far off in terms of speed. Still, there was always something lacking, I wasn’t comfortable and missing trust, even when our times were ok. It wasn’t an easy time for the entire team. The Moto2 field is so close that you can’t afford to make any mistakes. We had a solid weekend and improved a lot. The races we both showed today were good and to be on the podium now, to be able to give something back to the team for their hard work, is of course a nice feeling. There was a lot of sacrifice behind it, we are all on the road for weeks, I had the arm operation, so it is even better to be able to reward that with the podium today. In the second race I had hoped for a bit more chances because I felt a lot more comfortable after the first start, but it was a complicated race throughout and third place was very important for all of us.”

Tom Lüthi
P7
Moto2 World Championship 2020 – P14 – 24 points

“Of course, I’m very happy that Marcel grabbed the podium because he really had good pace. At the second start, I actually made up a lot of places and got through really well. I was right behind Marcel, he went wide, I was next to him but he got through again, but I thought I could stay with him. Unfortunately, I almost lost my front in the last corner, which meant I had to get out on the curbs and lost a lot of places. Of course, that was a shame for the rhythm and speed. All in all, we have made further progress and made an important step forward. Of course, there is still a lot missing. Hopefully, we were able to understand a lot in today’s race. I’ve already spoken to the team and we know where we need to continue working on. We already have the next chance next week.”