The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider increases his lead in Rookie of the Year standings with teammate Tom Luthi finishing seventeenth.

MotorLand hosted the 14th round of the MotoGP World Championship with Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Franco Morbidelli racing in hot and humid conditions.

Franco Morbidelli completed the warm up in 17th position but with a six place grid penalty the Italian rider was forced to start from 19th on the seventh row. Morbidelli was inspired for a strong performance and rode with pace and precision during the 23 lap race. By the fifth lap Morbidelli was 14th behind Bradley Smith and Takaaki Nakagami and by lap 16 the Italian had moved ahead of both to secure eleventh which he held until the finish. With 31 points Morbidelli is 16th in the world championship and top of the Rookie of the Year standings.

Tom Luthi was ready for a long and hot race after being 21st in the warm up and he started brilliantly to be 16th on lap two picking four positions from 20th on the grid.  After briefly dropping to 17th Luthi got back to control 16th before fading rear grip cost him time over the final two laps and he settled for 17th at the finish, just two places out of the points.

The next MotoGP World Championship race will be held from October 5 to 7 at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
 

Franco Morbidelli: 11th, +27.025

“I did a good job today which shows just how well the team worked”

“I did a good job today which shows just how well the team worked over the weekend. Unfortunately with the grid penalty I started 19th but was able to recover a lot of positions and I’m very pleased to arrive eleventh. I could not have done this without the support of my team.”

Tom Luthi: 17th, +40.763

“I learnt a lot racing in these hot conditions”

“I was so close to scoring points so it is a pity to just miss out. My rhythm at the start was really good but I was lucky to go on the inside when Jorge Lorenzo crashed at the first corner. I had good pace until mid-race when tyre wear became an issue and then over the final four laps I had some vibration on the rear wheel. I need to find a way to save the tyres at the beginning of the race. I learnt a lot racing in these hot conditions which will be useful for the coming races.”