The World Motorcycling Championship 2009 started in the most unusual way that many can remember for a long time. Rain which has been falling intermittently and somewhat surprisingly at the circuit of Losail, in the end was part of the show tonight; it fell spectacularly just after the start of the 125cc race an got heavier. The Race Directors had to make a decision, it was none other than to deem the race as over after just 21.52km and four laps completed. A compromise was that only half the normal number of points were awarded.
Marc Márquez, who began on the third row, got off to a spectacular start and was up to fifth at the end of the home straight. He overtook the rider in front a couple of corners later and was fourth, the position he was in when he crossed the finishing line for the first time. Ahead of him were Iannone & Simón setting a fast pace, these two quickly got away from the chasing group. Then came Márquez – now third – leading the five riders in a group behind the leaders, with Espargaró, Folguer, Terol & Cortese following him.
The other three Repsol riders in 125cc had different fortune at the start. Esteve Rabat, in tenth position on the grid, ended the first lap in eleventh place. Scott Redding, who was thirteenth on the grid, lost several positions on the first lap and fell back to nineteenth, whilst Cameron Beaubier, sixteenth at the start, was eighteenth after one lap.
But the tactics prepared before the race were not fit for purpose because on the fourth lap the first raindrops began to fall, by the next lap the rain was very heavy. The red flag was shown, the race interrupted and a meeting of the Race Directors held. Meanwhile, Marc Márquez returned to his pits on his bike that had been completely destroyed after the rider was thrown off it and through the air on the fourth lap when the rear wheel hit a wet stretch of piano. That was on corner 12, a fast right-hander.
In the end the Race Directors deemed the 125cc race finished and because only four laps had been completed just half the usual number of points were awarded. So a victory for the Italian Iannone, Marc Márquez got no points as he did not complete the fourth lap and for the rest of the Repsol riders, varying amounts of luck. Esteve Rabat –tenth when he crossed the finishing line after four laps – returns home with 3 points in the bag, Scott Redding – thirteenth – 1.5 points and Beaubier – sixteenth – was out of the points positions.
Marc Márquez, fell >> Audio
“We knew there was a risk of rain, we saw the lightning getting closer and closer, but up to then the race was going well. The motorbike was working very well, the result of the work that KTM has done over the whole weekend, and you could notice that in the race. I was riding quite comfortably but then a few raindrops fell and perhaps I was pushing things a bit because I touched a piano and I fell. I was not able to return to the pits within the regulation time, but I can at least say I did have some luck, because only half the points were awarded and that is positive for us. Now all we have to do is wait for the Japanese GP and do our best again.”
Esteve Rabat, 10th at 8.678 secs. >> Audio
“I had a good start, overtaking a couple of riders, and then I found myself in a group battling with Bradl & Webb to be among the first ten. At the beginning the leading group got away from us, but when the first raindrops fell we began to catch them up until the race was stopped. I can`t say much more, only that the bike went well, both the chassis as well as the engine, and it was on these few laps that I felt really at home on the bike, the best I felt over the whole weekend. Now we have to think about Japan where we will continue to fight, and try to finish among the first nine riders, and just carry on improving.”
Scott Redding, 13th at 12.360 secs. >> Audio
“I made a bad start, and that was my first problem. Then I made up some ground, overtaking rivals. I was fighting with a few of the other riders and when I got past them I began to make contact with the group that was in front, but then it started to rain. The red flag was shown after five laps, they took the classification of the last time we crossed the finishing line, and there was nothing else we could do. To be sincere I am a little annoyed because they have awarded half the usual number of points but I think they should not have given any. But it`s all decided now and there is nothing we can do.”
Cameron Beaubier, 16th at 13.893 secs. >> Audio
“At the beginning of the race I was riding much more comfortably than I had done anytime in the practice sessions over the whole weekend, so I was able to follow the pace set by my rivals. I felt comfortable and the big difference I noticed was when braking, which is what we had been lacking this weekend. I was very confident taking corners fast, because since the fall last Tuesday I had always been losing ground at this point. I am pleased because I was able to keep up with my rivals, and the bike went really well on the straight.”
