Barcelona - Catalunya, Spain – Sunday 5th June
Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Circuit Length: 4.7 km
Circuit Length: 4.7 km
The DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team concluded the Catalan GP with a positive 10th place finish from Czech rider Jakub Kornfeil. Adding six more points to his World Championship tally, the 23-year old leaves Barcelona in 9th place overall.
Despite a strong start from rookie Adam Norrodin, the young Malay experienced a disappointing end to his Grand Prix weekend. As the lights went out the eager 17-year-old pushed hard to immediately gain five places into turn one. Determined to battle for the points Norrodin continued to work his way through the field, but a small mistake in turn ten saw him crash out before he could complete the first lap. Hoping to continue Norrodin remounted his #7 machine but having lost the majority of his foot-peg was forced to retire.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“The target here today for Jakub was top ten, so it’s good to be there but I do think the race itself should have been a little bit better. He missed a couple of opportunities to go with the group in front and he couldn’t follow Antonelli, but we knew this track would be difficult for him, so to go away with six points is not so bad. For sure in Assen though we need to aim higher and I’m confident that we can. The bike seems to work well now for Jakub; he just needs to push a little bit more himself in the qualifying to get a better starting position; this is the key point.
For Adam he only made half a lap. He made a good start, pushed hard and had a strategy but unfortunately he had a crash. These things happen when you are pushing. It would have been good for him to finish the race to continue building up his confidence but let’s see for Assen. It will be another new track for him but I think he can do alright and we will do all we can to prepare him.”
“The target here today for Jakub was top ten, so it’s good to be there but I do think the race itself should have been a little bit better. He missed a couple of opportunities to go with the group in front and he couldn’t follow Antonelli, but we knew this track would be difficult for him, so to go away with six points is not so bad. For sure in Assen though we need to aim higher and I’m confident that we can. The bike seems to work well now for Jakub; he just needs to push a little bit more himself in the qualifying to get a better starting position; this is the key point.
For Adam he only made half a lap. He made a good start, pushed hard and had a strategy but unfortunately he had a crash. These things happen when you are pushing. It would have been good for him to finish the race to continue building up his confidence but let’s see for Assen. It will be another new track for him but I think he can do alright and we will do all we can to prepare him.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil: P10
“My race start was not good and I passed only one guy in the first lap. I started to find my rhythm and was able to begin passing riders; I made it up to ninth place and caught the leading group. I was fighting with Antonelli a lot, but then I saw the first group start to pull away. I knew that we had to be smart and try to catch them again. Unfortunately Antonelli was so fast in the corners and I couldn’t catch him; I struggled for grip throughout the race. I lost contact with him and the leaders and then the group behind caught me. We had a big battle but I was able to make a pass on one of the riders to finish in tenth. I believe we had the potential to be seventh today but overall after such a difficult weekend from the start, I’m happy to leave here with 10th place and more championship points.”
“My race start was not good and I passed only one guy in the first lap. I started to find my rhythm and was able to begin passing riders; I made it up to ninth place and caught the leading group. I was fighting with Antonelli a lot, but then I saw the first group start to pull away. I knew that we had to be smart and try to catch them again. Unfortunately Antonelli was so fast in the corners and I couldn’t catch him; I struggled for grip throughout the race. I lost contact with him and the leaders and then the group behind caught me. We had a big battle but I was able to make a pass on one of the riders to finish in tenth. I believe we had the potential to be seventh today but overall after such a difficult weekend from the start, I’m happy to leave here with 10th place and more championship points.”
#7 Adam Norrodin: DNF
“I made a good race start today. I knew it would be hard from 25th place on the grid so I knew I had to push a lot in the beginning. I didn’t want the group ahead to pull away so I really fought hard off the line; I think I gained 5 places straight away. I had a good line going into the first corner and gained a lot of ground but I could see I still needed to get closer to those in the points to make a good race. In turn five I passed two riders and closed the gap behind Martin. I tried to overtake him but when I touched the front brake it was difficult stop the bike. I tried to use the rear brake for more support but it didn’t work. I didn’t want to hit anyone but unfortunately I went in too fast and I clipped Martin’s rear tyre and crashed out. I re-joined the race but I had lost most of my foot peg; I tried to keep going but it was impossible to be competitive without it. We have many things to work out for the next race and I must learn from today so that I can work harder and improve for Assen.”
“I made a good race start today. I knew it would be hard from 25th place on the grid so I knew I had to push a lot in the beginning. I didn’t want the group ahead to pull away so I really fought hard off the line; I think I gained 5 places straight away. I had a good line going into the first corner and gained a lot of ground but I could see I still needed to get closer to those in the points to make a good race. In turn five I passed two riders and closed the gap behind Martin. I tried to overtake him but when I touched the front brake it was difficult stop the bike. I tried to use the rear brake for more support but it didn’t work. I didn’t want to hit anyone but unfortunately I went in too fast and I clipped Martin’s rear tyre and crashed out. I re-joined the race but I had lost most of my foot peg; I tried to keep going but it was impossible to be competitive without it. We have many things to work out for the next race and I must learn from today so that I can work harder and improve for Assen.”
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