Rain before the race and subsequent rapid drying asphalt turns contest into a lottery. Jorge Navarro finishes ninth, Fabio Quartararo eleventh and Maria Herrera twenty-fourth.
The two Repsol riders, Jorge Navarro and Fabio Quartararo, managed to overcome a difficult race in Indianapolis. The rain before the start of the Moto3 contest left the asphalt completely wet and forced the riders to put on rain tyres. However, hardly anyone had imagined that the track would dry out as quickly as it did, and most riders had to go through the pits for tyre changes.
As Moto3 riders do not have two bikes available, the mechanics had to change tyres and setup bikes in record time. After entering the pits to change tyres, Navarro went back out on track and regained positions until reaching the group fighting for fifth place –joining Viñales, Bastianini, Antonelli and Binder. Navarro eventually finished ninth after losing positions in the group on the final laps, when the rain once again made an appearance and he opted to be cautious.
Teammate Fabio Quartararo also ascended positions during the race, placing eleventh at the chequered flag. Maria Herrera, who had reached as high as tenth before pitting to change tyres, finished in twenty-fourth position.
After this race, the World Championship moves to the Czech Republic, where next weekend’s Grand Prix will be held.
Fabio Quartararo
11th at 1:32.784 min
“It was a difficult race. We started out with wet tyres and when I entered the pits to change tyres I got nervous and lost many seconds. The first two laps I took very slowly and I lost the front group. Then I started going really fast, giving the maximum I could, and I reached them again. I’m happy with the race, as it helps to gain experience. We did not think about putting slicks on when we were on the grid, because it was raining and we could not risk so much. The final laps was also difficult because it was raining, but I took some risks to make up some places.”
Jorge Navarro
9th at 1:25.292 min
“It was a crazy race. Before the start it began to rain and we set off with wet tyres. Some riders took the risk, came into the garage to put on slicks and things worked out for them. We were more conservative, but when I put on the slicks I started setting a very good pace and I got into fifth. With a few laps remaining it started to rain hard again and I took things easy, since the aim was to finish the race and gain experience in these conditions. The team did an impeccable job when I stopped to change tyres; I think we were the fastest.”
María Herrera
24th +1 lap
“It started raining when we were on the grid and I thought the race would be wet. I started calmly, to try things out at the beginning, and then I managed to move up positions. But other riders switched to dry tyres before me. I stayed out one lap longer and I lost several seconds I could not recover. I think it was a race to learn from and be smarter if these circumstances occur again – either changing the tyres earlier or risking things from the beginning.”
