07/08/2022

Alcoba takes 14th place at Silverstone & Schrötter loses important championship points

The British Grand Prix did not go as straightforward as hoped for the LIQUI MOLY Intact GP team after starting problems for both riders led to nail-biting duels as the race progressed, which ended with a crash for Marcel Schrötter and more world championship points for Jeremy Alcoba.

The gravel trap had already snapped once for German Marcel Schrötter on Saturday, but that a similar fate would befall him in the 12th race of the season was not to be expected, as the 29-year-old showed a solid pace throughout the weekend. The harder front tyre, however, took away his necessary confidence, especially after the first slip the day before. This season, the experienced rider has often managed a good start, but not so in the 18-lap race at Silverstone. On the first lap, the Bavarian lost eight positions and then had difficulties escaping the tussle, losing valuable time. Especially the duel with his former teammate, Tony Arbolino, made life difficult for Schrötter. With two laps to go, Schrötter, who had been seventh in the world championship until then, was in 13th position, but then his front collapsed in Turn 13 and ruined any hopes of scoring points this weekend.

Jeremy Alcoba, on the other hand, had more reason to be happy after the rookie finished in the points again after Assen. But the 20-year-old also experienced a rather tricky start, which cost him six positions. His feeling and pace could have been enough for the top 10, according to his own statements, but his focus is already on the positive achievements of this race Sunday in Silverstone, Great Britain. With two more championship points in his pocket, they now head to Styria, where the Austrian Grand Prix will be held at the Red Bull Ring from 19th -21st of August and where both riders of the German racing team want to prove again that they can be among the front runners.

Results

Warm-Up
1. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX – 2'04.403
2. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – 2'04.787 (+0.384)
3. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – 2'04.824 (+0.421)
4. Tony ARBOLINO/ ITA/ KALEX – 2'05.003 (+0.600)
5. Filip SALAC/ CZE/ KALEX – 2'05.057 (+0.654)
12. Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX – 2'05.614 (+1.211
17. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – 2'05.758 (+1.355)

Race
1. Augusto FERNANDEZ/ SPA/ KALEX
2. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – (+0.070)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ KALEX – (+0.662)
4. Ai Ogura/ JAP/ KALEX – (+1.741)
5. Aron CANET/ SPA/ KALEX – (+1.946)
14. Jeremy ALCOBA/ SPA/ KALEX – (+17.285)
DNF Marcel SCHRÖTTER/ GER/ KALEX

Championship
1. FERNANDEZ Augusto / SPA / 171
2. OGURA Ai / JPN / 158
3. VIETTI Celestino / ITA / 156
4. CANET Aron / SPA / 127
5. ARBOLINO Tony / ITA / 108
6. ROBERTS Joe / USA / 106
7. DIXON Jake/ GBR/ 92
8. SCHRÖTTER Marcel / GER / 88
9. ACOSTA Pedro / SPA / 75
10. CHANTRA Somkiat / THA / 72
19. ALCOBA Jeremy/ SPA/ 35

Team classification
1. RED BULL KTM AJO / 246
2. IDEMITSU HONDA TEAM ASIA / 230
3. FLEXBOX HP40 / 197
4. ELF MARC VDS RACING TEAM / 159
5. MOONEY VR46 RACING TEAM / 156
6. GASGAS ASPAR TEAM / 137
7. LIQUI MOLY INTACT GP / 123
8. ITALTRANS RACING TEAM / 116
9. CAG SPEED UP/ 100
10.PERTAMINA MANDALIKA SAG TEAM / 67

Marcel Schrötter

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P8 - 88 Points

"Unfortunately, it was not a good race today. The first lap was the complete opposite of what we have shown well all year. I was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time several times today. I always tried to attack, of course, but the circumstances were treacherous. There was a lot of back and forth, especially on the first lap, which caused me to fall way back. It was extremely difficult to build up a feeling. We were already struggling a bit over the weekend, but we were still able to deliver solid practice sessions and, by our standards, a good qualifying session. However, the feeling with the hard front tyre was never the best. The softer tyre gives me more confidence, but we were worried that it wouldn't hold up to the rising temperatures. Unfortunately, the bike didn't react as I expected on the hard tyre, especially with all the back and forth. Of course, the first crash on Saturday didn't boost my confidence at that point either. The race was already over after the start due to the loss of positions. The pace was not ideal, the duels were exhausting and the crash was really unnecessary because it did not happen while trying to overtake, but rather in the normal cornering and trying to get out of the corner well. Sadly, my front just collapsed, which is very annoying. It would have been important points. I think a top 7 result would have been possible today, but for some reason, I'm struggling here, so my goal was to record a solid result. Of course, I didn't want to start the second half of the season like this, but we will now look at how we can give me more confidence on the bike again and then we will go full throttle again in Spielberg in a fortnight' time."

Jeremy Alcoba

P14 (+17.285)
Moto2 World Championship 2022 - P19 - 35 Points

"I think it was one of the best weekends of the season as we worked really well over the weekend. I had a good set-up, and a good feeling. From the beginning of Friday, I was focused on improving with every lap. At the beginning of the race, I felt super focused and I was convinced that maybe today we can seriously have a good race. But at the start, I lost many positions and so I finished the first lap in 20th place. It was pretty hard to come back. And when I was with Marcel in the first laps, it even felt like he was slower than me and I didn't want to make a mistake behind him or while overtaking in order not to both go down. Sadly, I missed the right moment to pass him, instead, two riders overtook me which cost me even more time. When I finally fought back, I found my pace, which was good. I think, if we would have had a good start, we could have fought for the top 10. This of course makes me happy because it shows that the potential is still there. Now I will focus on the next race, hoping to push for more."

Jürgen Lingg

Teammanager

"Jeremey's weekend was good from the start. You got the impression that the summer break really did him good. He was rewarded for his good work with Q2, which made me extremely happy for him. Of course, that gave us justified hope for points. He then showed a really solid race. You could see from the times that it would have even been enough for a place further up the field. From my point of view, this was a very positive start to the second half of the season and if he continues like this, he will also move up.

Marcel was able to secure the third row of the grid, so of course, we were expecting more for the race. But unfortunately, his start wasn't so good and then he didn't find his rhythm quickly enough. It just wasn't enough to move further up the group. Now we have to put that behind us and try to do better in Spielberg."

Pictures – British Grand Prix

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