02/10/2022

Marcel Schrötter scores 0.5 points in Buriram rain chaos

Sudden downpour caused much excitement on Sunday in Thailand, as after several attempts to hold the Moto2 race, it was finally declared over with less than two-thirds of the race distance completed, earning Marcel Schrötter of the LIQUI MOLY Intact GP Team at least 0.5 points with P15, while Jeremy Alcoba fell victim to aquaplaning.

While still on the grid, the liquid disaster from above took its course. As if from nowhere, it poured over large parts of the 4.6 km Chang International Circuit in Buriram, which led to a first start delay. The teams frantically switched to rain tires so that the race could be started without any major delays. But it rained more and more, more and more heavily.

Regrettably, Jeremy Alcoba slipped out of the race on lap four after starting from 14th on the grid. The Spaniard delivered many small successes this weekend and was in high spirits for his 17th race of the season. The youngster also continued to show competitiveness in the warm-up with P13. At the beginning of the race he lost a few positions, but fought to advance despite aquaplaning. Even after his slip, the Spaniard hoped to make a quick trip to his team pit to have the worst of the damage to his Kalex repaired and get back on track.

In lap seven of the already shortened to 16 laps finally followed the abort by red flags. A 5-lap sprint race was to follow, but the re-start was also delayed by the increasingly heavy rainfall. In the following warm-up round was again canceled and the result on the first seven driven laps finally assessed with half of the actual score.

For Marcel Schrötter, this meant 0.5 points in his favor after the German had made a fantastic start despite the adverse conditions and settled into 15th position. The spray from the masses of water was exceedingly dangerous, as the 29-year-old described the situation on the track afterwards. Although he came out of the warm-up with a good feeling, the rain just ruined any feeling and ensured that the experienced Schrötter could not get pressure on his tires, which made handling in the corners almost impossible.

The rain chaos of Buriram brings to an end an intense three-week tour of Spain and Asia before the third penultimate race of the season in two weeks' time, October 14-16, at one of the world's most spectacular circuits: the Phillip Island Grand Prix in faraway Australia.

Results  

WARM-UP 
1. Somkiat CHANTRA/ THA/ KALEX – 1'36.054 
2. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'36.206 (+0.152) 
3. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'36.342 (+0.288)
 4. Joe ROBERTS/ USA/ KALEX - 1'36.464 (+0.410)
 5. Ai OGURA/ JAP/ KALEX – 1'36.492 (+0.438) 
13. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'36.829 (+0.775) 
23. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'37.352 (+1.298)

  Race  
1. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX –  
2. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KALEX – (+0.251)
 3. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – (+3.112) 
4. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – (+3.268) 
5. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO –(+4.137) 
15. Marcel ScCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – (1 Lap) 
DNF Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX   

World Championship Standings 
1. FERNANDEZ Augusto / SPA / 238,5 
2. OGURA Ai / JPN / 237 
3. CANET Aron / SPA / 185
 4. VIETTI Celestino / ITA / 165 
5. ARBOLINO Tony / ITA / 150,5 
6. ACOSTA Pedro / SPA / 132
 7. ROBERTS Joe / USA / 130 
8. DIXON Jake/ GBR/ 127,5 
9. CHANTRA Somkiat / THA / 120 
10. LOPEZ Alonso/ SPA/ 110,5 
11. SCHRÖTTER Marcel / GER / 104,5 
18. ALCOBA Jeremy/ SPA/ 47

  Team Classification
 1. RED BULL KTM AJO / 370,5
 2. IDEMITSU HONDA TEAM ASIA / 357 
3. FLEXBOX HP40 / 268 
4. ELF MARC VDS RACING TEAM / 201,5
 5. INDE GASGAS ASPAR TEAM / 201,5 
6. BETA TOOLS SPEED UP/ 165,5 
7. MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM / 165 
8. LIQUI MOLY INTACT GP / 151,5
 9. ITALTRANS RACING TEAM / 145 
10.PERTAMINA MANDALIKA SAG TEAM / 81,5 

Marcel Schrötter

P15
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P11 - 104.5 Points

"What a chaotic Sunday! *laughs* Not only did the rain mess everything up, so the chaos started already with us in the pits. Suddenly my boot broke, something didn't work on the hydration system on my helmet, and weather-wise it went on just as chaotic. There was a lot of unrest after the start and I wouldn't have minded doing a rain race. But I think in these conditions we should have stopped much earlier, because in some places it was really extremely dangerous. I had a good start beforehand, made up some positions, but lost them again quickly. We couldn't optimally adapt the bike to the rain in the short time available, which meant that my feeling then left a lot to be desired. I had hardly any feedback from the bike in the heavy rain. I didn't get any pressure on the tires in the aquaplaning areas and had to ride more or less upright. As a result, I was off the track two or three times. I then tried to work my way forward after I saw that I could go faster than the group in front of me. The line between crashing and staying upright was very very small. I was really looking forward to the restart because then I could have gone out on the right rain setting. Starts in the rain work well for me, so I think we could have been up to the top 10. I'm a bit disappointed, in the end I only managed to take half a point, but it was another difficult weekend. The rain could have played into our cards, but we have to find our way forward again even without rain. Now we have a week's break before Australia and we will enjoy the time to the full. I thank everyone for their support at the moment."

Jeremy Alcoba

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P18 - 47 Points

"I am very disappointed and it seems that luck is not on our side lately, because in Japan the feeling was good but we had problems with braking. Here in Thailand we have done a great job so far this weekend. I was full of confidence from the warm-up, because I didn't even push much and still had a good pace. At the start of the race I was convinced we could have a strong race, but then heavy rain set in. That took away my feeling for the bike, I couldn't push anymore and so I rode pretty slowly. I caught up with the top positions again, but I crashed. It was a bit strange, but the whole race was strange. I'm frustrated because we did a great job but once again we couldn't finish. It was hard work, but we realized we are fast and improving, so I will try to just focus on the next race."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"I think that this weekend of Jeremy was the best of the whole season. On Friday he was very strong, was immediately in the top 10 and went straight into Q2. In Q2, the timing was not optimal, otherwise probably more than P14 would have been possible. Nevertheless, this was a good starting position for the race, which was then affected by heavy rain. It was like a lottery game that had to be played. Unfortunately, he then crashed. Something like that can easily happen in such conditions, but the main thing is that he is unhurt. He really has to take the positive things from this weekend with him to Australia.

Marcel was confident going into Motegi, but it was another difficult weekend for him. He wasn't able to build the confidence he needed. He must now remain calm and focused, then the success and speed will come back on their own. In the treacherous race Marcel stayed seated, which was also a remarkable achievement. Probably more would have been possible without the abort, but the abort was more than necessary. He now has to look ahead and tick that off."

Pictures Thailand GP

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