In an eventful Czech GP, Navarro places in Top 5 and Quartararo DNF’s after being hit by another rider. Herrera takes twenty-third.
Jorge Navarro was again fighting for the podium until the last moment at the Czech GP, finally crossing the finish line fifth in a large group of eleven riders. Teammate Fabio Quartararo was hit by a rival rider and, even though he got back on track, after a few laps he was forced to bring his bike back to the garage. Maria Herrera, at a circuit where she has not felt comfortable all weekend, finished twenty-third and continues to accumulate experience at new tracks in her rookie season.
There was an accident-filled start to the Moto3 race, with an incident involving several riders on the opening lap leading to Race Direction displaying the red flag. The race resumed with a sprint format of 12 laps, which brought mixed luck for the Repsol riders. Navarro, who got up to the front on the first lap after the restart, remained in the podium battle for the whole race –and was only denied a rostrum by the typical late overtaking in Moto3.
Quartararo’s race ended before it truly got underway. The Repsol rider was hit by home competitor Karel Hanika during the second lap and, although he remounted, damage to his bike forced him to retire three laps later.
Maria Herrera, who started from the thirty-first position on the grid, placed 23rd at a track which had been unknown to her before this weekend –and where she never felt particularly comfortable.
The Moto3 World Championship returns to action in two weeks in Great Britain.
Fabio Quartararo
not classified
“In the early stages of the race the feeling was good. I did not want to rush to get to the front and kept calm, knowing that when there were 7 or 8 laps remaining I would have to get into the top positions. That was my strategy, but it failed to go through because someone hit me from behind. I wanted to continue, but when I did three more laps I saw that it was almost impossible to ride because the handlebars had moved and the brake and footrest were broken.”
Jorge Navarro
5th, at 0.560 sec.
“It was a very tight race. We had done a great job since Friday to get ready for today. At times I was set back by incidents with other riders, but I did my best and I was up in front with the fastest riders. Races like these are all about scraping fairings in the group, and this has allowed me to gain a lot of experience, so that I keep learning. Fifth position feels good and we continue our progression.”
Maria Herrera
23rd, at 16.927 sec.
“The first start was pretty good and I came up to my teammate. It’s too bad they had to stop the race after that. The second start was also good, but then the Grand Prix got tough. I had some touches from other riders and I could not find any slipstream or put myself in any large group, so I had to fight as best I could. This circuit has been difficult for me throughout the weekend and I have to reset to get stronger at Silverstone.”
