Tony Arbolino finished 8^th in an eventful Australian Grand Prix at the Phillip Island Circuit while Filip Salac was 14^th.

• After two days of temperamental weather, the elements were on our side on Sunday with Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac starting the 23-lap Moto2 race under sunny skies and cool ambient temperatures of 16 degrees.
• A total of 36,481 people were in attendance at the legendary Phillip Island Circuit on Sunday to watch the 17^th race of the season.

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 8^th

• Starting 11^th, Tony enjoyed a strong start and passed 3 riders to sit 8^th at the end of lap 1.
• The 24-year old was then involved in an exciting multi-rider fight for 4^th. After sitting as high as 5^th on lap 3, Tony occasionally struggled when downshifting, and hit a neutral gear, which lost him time. In the end, he just beat Sergio Garcia and Marcos Ramirez to finish 8^th.
• This result moves Tony up to 9^th in the World Championship standings with 135 points.

“I hit a neutral gear, which made me drop a lot”

“It was a normal race for us. I was aggressive and feeling quite good with myself and with my riding style early on. I started well and was sure I could fight for the top five. But then I hit a neutral gear, which made me drop a lot. But I have to say we had to change the bike a lot since yesterday. And I’m quite happy with the feeling I had after making fairly big changes to out setting. Let’s keep going like this and I’m sure we’ll be there fighting toward the front in these last two races that we have left in Asia. Let’s try again in Thailand and make it count!”

/// FILIP SALAC, 14^th

• Starting 22^nd, Filip knew he had to get a great start and the Czech rider delivered. At the end of the 1^st lap, he had gained 3 places to sit 18^th.
• From there, the Czech rider continued making progress to sit at the front of the 2^nd group. But with 6 laps to go, he started to feel uncomfortable with the front part of the bike, and dropped back to 14^th.
• Filip now sits 16^th in the World Championship with 59 points.

“We have to regroup and get ready for the next one”

“It was a tough race for us and a tough weekend. At the beginning of the race, I think I didn’t use all the potential we had and the front group escaped. I was then fighting in the second group and feeling comfortable there. I was leading that second group but in the last six laps I had a bad feeling with the front part of the bike. Overall, it’s been a difficult round and it’s tough to accept after our good result in Japan. But we have to regroup and get ready for the next one in Thailand, where we’ll try to put this result right.”