05/06/2022

Schrötter brings LIQUI MOLY Intact GP top 5 success in Catalunya, Alcoba P18

Bright sunshine, thousands of fans and 22 laps of action-packed racing formed the perfect recipe for the ninth Grand Prix of the Moto2 season in Barcelona, which Marcel Schrötter of the LIQUI MOLY Intact GP team crowned with his second top 5 result of 2022, while rookie Jeremy Alcoba finished his home GP race in P18.

In the morning warm-up session, Marcel Schrötter showed impressively with P2 that he had to be counted among the favourites at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. However, under the increasingly hot temperatures, it became a battle on the last groove for the German, who started the race from the ninth position on the grid.
Thanks to his solid start, Schrötter was in the leading group until shortly before the end, which had reformed after Joe Roberts had crashed out of the lead. The small gap of 1.470s to the race winner Celestino Vietti was extremely positive, as the 29-year-old had never been so close to victory in a race in 2022. A performance to build on at his home Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in a fortnight's time.

Less euphoric about the race on the demanding Barcelona circuit is team-mate Jeremy Alcoba, who was 18th in a group that only lost touch with the point positions in the last half of the race. The gap to the man in front, Barry Baltus, shrank with every lap, but in the end, it was not enough for a final attack.
However, the 20-year-old's pace was again rather positive as his lap times in the race were in the same range as those of opponents who have already been at the top of the podium this season. As always, the rookie is taking a lot with him to push his learning curve further up on the Kalex.

After the two consecutive races in Mugello and Barcelona, the two LIQUI MOLY Intact GP riders, who lie in P7 and P16 in the world championship rankings, now have a week to recharge their batteries and prepare for the German Grand Prix from 17th - 19th of June 2022 at the legendary Sachsenring, the home Grand Prix of their racing team based in Memmingen, Bavaria.

Warm-Up
1. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'44.179
2. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 1'44.302 (+0.123)
3. Sam LOWES/ GBR/ KALEX – 1'44.462 (+0.283)
4. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 1'44.572 (+0.393)
5. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – 1'44.684 (+0.505)
21. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 1'45.361 (+1.182)

Full results

Race
1. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX
2. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – (+0.081)
3. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – (+0.522)
4. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – (+0.646)
5. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – (+1.470)
18. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – (+22.513)

Full results

Championship
1. VIETTI Celestino / ITA / 133
2. OGURA Ai / JPN / 117
3. CANET Aron / SPA / 109
4. FERNANDEZ Augusto / SPA / 96
5. ARBOLINO Tony / ITA / 89
6. ROBERTS Joe / USA / 86
7. SCHROTTER Marcel / GER / 75
8. CHANTRA Somkiat / THA / 65
9. NAVARRO Jorge / SPA / 58
10. ACOSTA Pedro / SPA / 55
16. ALCOBA Jeremy/ SPA/ 31

Team classification
1. IDEMITSU HONDA TEAM ASIA / 182
2. FLEXBOX HP40 / 167
3. RED BULL KTM AJO / 151
4. MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM / 133
5. ELF MARC VDS RACING TEAM / 124
6. LIQUI MOLY INTACT GP / 106
7. ITALTRANS RACING TEAM / 96
8. INDE GASGAS ASPAR TEAM / 90
9. PERTAMINA MANDALIKA SAG TEAM / 50
10.LIGHTTECH SPEED UP / 44

Marcel Schrötter

P5 (+1.470)
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P7 - 75 Points

"It might not have been my best race this season, but it was probably the most consistent and the gap to the front was the smallest so far, so of course I'm happy. Nevertheless, we have had other strong races this season where we have come from really far behind. All in all, it was a solid weekend here in Barcelona, even across all the practice sessions. This time, Qualifying was much more the way we expect it to be. You just see again that if you start from relatively far in front, you are right there and that is what we need. Even if you're not the fastest, you can still be at the front, you understand more and that's why a starting position like that is so important. It was certainly a gamble with the hard rear tyre, but I was even surprised to be so competitive from the start. Of course, I hoped that the others would break in more at the back, but maybe it was the limit for my tyres due to the heat. For me, it was still the right decision, because I felt comfortable. I was at the limit, unfortunately, I lost too much towards the end, so I had to fight my way back again and again. Even though I couldn't do better, it was a good race. We were close to the top and that's how we have to continue. The whole team did a great job and sometimes you have to take risks."

Jeremy Alcoba

P18 (+22.513s)
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P16 - 31 Points

"This morning at the warm-up I felt really good. Much better than yesterday. But in the race, the temperatures rose and it was more difficult to control the situation. Maybe I need more experience at this point. It was not the worst race, I had a better feeling than in the last two weekends, although I scored points in one of the last two races and not today. But even if I didn't get points, I was able to improve something on myself and on the bike. After Austin, it was the smallest gap to the top. We have to keep working. We also need to focus on stopping the bike better, because that's the biggest issue so far. I'm not too happy, but not unhappy either, because I don't think it was a bad race. I was fighting and doing the same lap times as some guys who have already won races this year. So it was difficult for them as well. We will try to make another step in the next Grand Prix. The upcoming race is the team's home GP, so again I will try to do my best. Let's work."

Jürgen Lingg

Teammanager

"Marcel's performance improved again this weekend, as he was always within the front of the field throughout the weekend. The third row on the grid was of course very positive and helpful. He did a good job in the race, although I was a bit worried that he would be too nervous, but he did a great job. He had great speed in the first few laps, but unfortunately, a few small mistakes crept in towards the end, which meant he couldn't attack anymore because the gap has gotten too big. But to manage just a slight 1.4s gap to the winner with 22 laps is impressive. We want to build on that and keep working hard.

Jeremy's problem was more on Friday and Saturday because it took him too long to get up to speed. He had too many problems and it is certainly not easy for a rookie on this track with so little grip. In the end, today was a good day for him. After Austin, this was the second smallest gap to the winner and that is absolutely acceptable for us. Especially when you see what you can lose in one lap alone on this track. His performance on Sunday is okay, we only need to improve his performance on Fridays and Saturdays. We have to continue to work calmly and concentrated and then he will also finish in the points again."

Pictures – Gran Premi de Catalunya

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