Argentina – Sunday 3rd April
Circuit: Termas de Río Hondo
Circuit Length: 4.8 km
Circuit Length: 4.8 km
The Argentina Grand Prix came to a bitter sweet end for the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team, following a near podium finish for Malaysian rookie Adam Norrodin.
Undeterred by the mixed weather conditions, 17-year-old Norrodin showed courage from the start, fearlessly ploughing his way through the field and claiming fourteen places on the opening lap.
Consistently lapping quickly the Malay kept his head down in third place throughout the 21 lap race, focussing his attentions on the end result. Riding smart he pushed hard to maintain a seven second gap from the group behind, whilst assessing ways to pass Navarro for second place. Determined not to settle for third place Norrodin bravely battled to the very end, but bad luck struck in the final corner seeing Norrodin high-side after touching a wet part of the track. Despite being injured from the crash, Norrodin picked up his #7 machine and ran across the line, claiming 11th place and his first points of the season.
Consistently lapping quickly the Malay kept his head down in third place throughout the 21 lap race, focussing his attentions on the end result. Riding smart he pushed hard to maintain a seven second gap from the group behind, whilst assessing ways to pass Navarro for second place. Determined not to settle for third place Norrodin bravely battled to the very end, but bad luck struck in the final corner seeing Norrodin high-side after touching a wet part of the track. Despite being injured from the crash, Norrodin picked up his #7 machine and ran across the line, claiming 11th place and his first points of the season.
Staring from fourteenth position, Jakub Kornfeil worked hard to find his rhythm in the trying conditions. Gaining pace and confidence lap by lap, the Czech rider worked hard to close in on the group ahead. Determined to add more points to his Championship position, the 22-year-old fought his way into the top ten to claim 9th place as the chequered flag came out.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“The conditions today were very strange; it was wet and then it started to dry up. We chose for both riders to race on slicks and I’m pleased to say we made the right decision.
Adam did an amazing start from seventeenth on the grid. We spoke about this before the race; to be fast on the dry part and try to stay with the front group so not to lose too much and that’s exactly what he did. He passed a lot of riders in the first lap and moved up into third place. From there on he pushed hard to pull away and make a gap, passed Loi and then Navarro came with him and he followed Navarro for the whole race. He did an amazing job! They had a seven second gap to the group behind. On the last lap he felt faster than Navarro so he tried to overtake in the last corner to finish in P2 but unfortunately he happened to run over a small wet patch and crashed. I feel so sorry for Adam and for the team but it doesn’t take away from the job he has done here. He rode a fantastic race; he showed so much courage and even after his crash he picked the bike up and ran over the line; he never gave up and that is a big credit to him. Of course I’m a bit sad for what could have been but still he took five points, finished eleventh and showed great potential.
For Jakub we know these mixed conditions are not really his strong point and it’s very difficult for him but he stayed calm, didn’t do anything crazy and finished within the top ten. He’s now eighth overall in the Championship and this is what we must focus on. We need to continue taking points and we need to take the opportunity when it comes with Jakub and we’ll be there.”
“The conditions today were very strange; it was wet and then it started to dry up. We chose for both riders to race on slicks and I’m pleased to say we made the right decision.
Adam did an amazing start from seventeenth on the grid. We spoke about this before the race; to be fast on the dry part and try to stay with the front group so not to lose too much and that’s exactly what he did. He passed a lot of riders in the first lap and moved up into third place. From there on he pushed hard to pull away and make a gap, passed Loi and then Navarro came with him and he followed Navarro for the whole race. He did an amazing job! They had a seven second gap to the group behind. On the last lap he felt faster than Navarro so he tried to overtake in the last corner to finish in P2 but unfortunately he happened to run over a small wet patch and crashed. I feel so sorry for Adam and for the team but it doesn’t take away from the job he has done here. He rode a fantastic race; he showed so much courage and even after his crash he picked the bike up and ran over the line; he never gave up and that is a big credit to him. Of course I’m a bit sad for what could have been but still he took five points, finished eleventh and showed great potential.
For Jakub we know these mixed conditions are not really his strong point and it’s very difficult for him but he stayed calm, didn’t do anything crazy and finished within the top ten. He’s now eighth overall in the Championship and this is what we must focus on. We need to continue taking points and we need to take the opportunity when it comes with Jakub and we’ll be there.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil: P9
“Race conditions were very difficult today; from the beginning to the end. I just wanted to stay on the bike and arrive in the points, which is so important, especially at the beginning of the season. I just wanted to take as many as possible. In the middle of the race I was catching the group that were fighting for fourth position, then I caught Loi who was slow on the wet tyres, but in that moment I couldn’t pass him for three corners and I lost the contact with the group ahead. A few laps before the end Guevara and Antonelli caught me so I had to fight with them. I was thirteenth position at one point but I knew I had to finish top ten at least. I kept pushing but the conditions were so slippery and I didn’t want to make a mistake and crash, so I tried to just stay focussed on getting across the line. I’m happy with ninth position because we started fourteenth and this has moved me up two positions in the Championship, which is great.”
“Race conditions were very difficult today; from the beginning to the end. I just wanted to stay on the bike and arrive in the points, which is so important, especially at the beginning of the season. I just wanted to take as many as possible. In the middle of the race I was catching the group that were fighting for fourth position, then I caught Loi who was slow on the wet tyres, but in that moment I couldn’t pass him for three corners and I lost the contact with the group ahead. A few laps before the end Guevara and Antonelli caught me so I had to fight with them. I was thirteenth position at one point but I knew I had to finish top ten at least. I kept pushing but the conditions were so slippery and I didn’t want to make a mistake and crash, so I tried to just stay focussed on getting across the line. I’m happy with ninth position because we started fourteenth and this has moved me up two positions in the Championship, which is great.”
#7 Adam Norrodin: P11
“Today started really well. We had a great warm up and we finished in the top ten. I felt good and had a lot of confidence going into the race. When we lined up on the grid the conditions were mixed and we had to make a decision with the tyres. We chose slicks so I just focussed on doing a good race and making the most of our qualifying position. You never know when you’re going to have this chance again so I knew I had to push from the start; I wanted to be in the top ten. I made a good start; I felt really comfortable with the bike and confident so I kept pushing myself hard and I finished the first lap in third place. I saw Pawi and Loi breakaway so I pushed a lot to catch them. I caught Loi and then soon after Navarro passed me on the straight, so I decided to just stay behind him and follow him to the end. I didn’t want to fight and risk crashing in the middle of the race, so I kept calm behind him and tried to see where I could pass him towards the end. On the last lap I was faster than him so I knew I had to try and go for second place. We swapped places a couple of times during the final lap so when I got to the last corner I knew this was my last chance. I managed to pass him but as soon I touched the throttle again, I high-sided. I’m so disappointed and angry for this; we should have took a podium today. I know that the points are still good and I want to thank the team for all their support and belief in me. I’m still learning but I know I will learn from what I lost today; I will be better next time.”
“Today started really well. We had a great warm up and we finished in the top ten. I felt good and had a lot of confidence going into the race. When we lined up on the grid the conditions were mixed and we had to make a decision with the tyres. We chose slicks so I just focussed on doing a good race and making the most of our qualifying position. You never know when you’re going to have this chance again so I knew I had to push from the start; I wanted to be in the top ten. I made a good start; I felt really comfortable with the bike and confident so I kept pushing myself hard and I finished the first lap in third place. I saw Pawi and Loi breakaway so I pushed a lot to catch them. I caught Loi and then soon after Navarro passed me on the straight, so I decided to just stay behind him and follow him to the end. I didn’t want to fight and risk crashing in the middle of the race, so I kept calm behind him and tried to see where I could pass him towards the end. On the last lap I was faster than him so I knew I had to try and go for second place. We swapped places a couple of times during the final lap so when I got to the last corner I knew this was my last chance. I managed to pass him but as soon I touched the throttle again, I high-sided. I’m so disappointed and angry for this; we should have took a podium today. I know that the points are still good and I want to thank the team for all their support and belief in me. I’m still learning but I know I will learn from what I lost today; I will be better next time.”
-SIC Racing Team facebook.
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