Sixteenth for Marcos Ramirez and 19th for Rory Skinner in the #IndonesianGP
Top 20 finish for the American Racing Team as Marcos Ramirez struggled with grip problems whilst Rory Skinner equalled his best Moto2 result so far.
With track temperatures hitting highs of 58C, it was a difficult start to the weekend for Marcos as he finished up the day in 15th but the Spaniard rallied back for final practice on Saturday to secure a direct place into Q2.
In a characteristically close Qualifying, Marcos took 17th place and only eight-tenths off pole.
As ground temperature reached 60C, the Moto2 race got off to a spicy start with an early yellow flag for a multi-rider crash ahead of Marcos but luckily, he was able to avoid any drama, moving up into 15th before making further progress on lap three into 14th.
Struggling with grip problems, Marcos was unable to hold on to the position and he was passed by Dennis Foggia and Albert Arenas, pushing him down to 16th by lap 15 where he ended the race.
Getting to grips with the Indonesian circuit, Rory improved practice upon practice as he knocked 1.4 seconds off his best time from FP1 to FP3.
Rory gave it his all in the searing Indonesian heat to finish Qualifying in 28th spot, 1.3 seconds off outright pole position.
Making a good start, Rory made up four positions in the opening lap before taking a further one to put him into 23rd by lap three.
Holding his own, Rory continued his progressions as he made his way past three riders and into the top 20 before making up another place into 19th to take the chequered flag.
Marcos Ramirez #24 – 16th
It wasn’t the best weekend, but I think we worked well and were ready for a good race. I don’t really know what happened, but the tyre was destroyed at the end of the race. I had grip problems from the first lap and I couldn’t manage to fight for the points with the feeling as I was risking a lot but it was impossible to fight for the top 10. It’s not the result that we want but we have another opportunity next week in Australia.
Rory Skinner #33 – 19th
I’m really happy with how this Sunday’s race went. I felt more like myself in the race and managed to get in amongst the battle as I pushed really hard in the first few laps to get track position and managed to maintain it for the majority of the race whilst staying really consistent in the heat. This is probably one of the hottest races that I’ve ever done but I’m really happy with everything that I’ve done. The training I’ve been doing recently has been paying off as I felt strong throughout and set my fastest lap with three laps to go. I felt like I controlled the tyres well and to be back in the top 20 after a while out of it is nice, it’s really good to be there and the team deserve it. Hopefully, we can build on this for future races and see where we end up.