Circuit: Phillip Island
Circuit Length: 4.4 km
Circuit Length: 4.4 km
In one of the most action packed Moto3 races of the year, rookie Adam Norrodin battled to the end to claim his second consecutive point scoring finish, crossing the line in a hard fought 11th place.
Defying the odds in a race that saw multiple crashes, the 18-year-old Malaysian exuded confidence from the very beginning as he launched himself off the line and into fourteenth place on the opening lap. Looking strong Norrodin had worked his way through the field to 8th place, when a multiple rider pile up brought out the red flag.
Restarting from the fourth row, Norrodin made another solid start, determined to take full advantage of the ten lap sprint. Provisionally holding sixth position, Norrodin was caught up in the chaos and pushed wide. Despite being swallowed up by the pack and reduced to eighteenth place, the determined Malaysian regained his rhythm and battled his way back through the field in a heroic last lap fight to finish 11th.
Restarting from the fourth row, Norrodin made another solid start, determined to take full advantage of the ten lap sprint. Provisionally holding sixth position, Norrodin was caught up in the chaos and pushed wide. Despite being swallowed up by the pack and reduced to eighteenth place, the determined Malaysian regained his rhythm and battled his way back through the field in a heroic last lap fight to finish 11th.
Starting from row eight, teammate Jakub Kornfeil worked hard to build his pace and battle his way through to tenth position, when his hopes of a solid finish were dashed when he made a mistake going into turn four. Forced to retire and unable to ride back to the box meant the Czech rider was excluded from the restart and unable to continue in today’s Australian Grand Prix.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“It was a crazy race today, with so many things happening. Adam started twenty sixth but he made a fantastic start in race one. Already after the first lap he was in the top ten and fighting hard. This was incredible after our results in qualifying and warm up; he made a huge step. The red flag came out when he was eighth but he stayed calm and focussed throughout it all. When it restarted for the final ten laps he made another incredible start off the line and was in the top six after the first couple of laps. With four or five laps to go he was pushed wide and dropped down the order but he never gave up and came back very strong in the end. He did his fastest lap (fifth fastest of the race) on the final lap, which was a really good time. I’m very pleased with Adam today and his performance here this weekend. To come to a circuit for the first time, be faced with constantly changing conditions and finish just outside of the top ten is great.
Jakub had a tougher start to the race and he gave himself quite a bit of work to catch the leading group, but he got his head down and did it. Unfortunately whilst in tenth place he made an error going into turn four when he was downshifting and this forced him to run wide and retire from the race. It’s very disappointing because if Jakub could have restarted the race, I know he could have been in the leading group with Adam.
We look forward to Malaysia now and I hope that we can get some good points with both riders at our Home Grand Prix.”
“It was a crazy race today, with so many things happening. Adam started twenty sixth but he made a fantastic start in race one. Already after the first lap he was in the top ten and fighting hard. This was incredible after our results in qualifying and warm up; he made a huge step. The red flag came out when he was eighth but he stayed calm and focussed throughout it all. When it restarted for the final ten laps he made another incredible start off the line and was in the top six after the first couple of laps. With four or five laps to go he was pushed wide and dropped down the order but he never gave up and came back very strong in the end. He did his fastest lap (fifth fastest of the race) on the final lap, which was a really good time. I’m very pleased with Adam today and his performance here this weekend. To come to a circuit for the first time, be faced with constantly changing conditions and finish just outside of the top ten is great.
Jakub had a tougher start to the race and he gave himself quite a bit of work to catch the leading group, but he got his head down and did it. Unfortunately whilst in tenth place he made an error going into turn four when he was downshifting and this forced him to run wide and retire from the race. It’s very disappointing because if Jakub could have restarted the race, I know he could have been in the leading group with Adam.
We look forward to Malaysia now and I hope that we can get some good points with both riders at our Home Grand Prix.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil: DNF
“Before the race I felt good; I knew I had the pace to go with the front group. Unfortunately I didn’t make the best start off the line and then there were a lot of crashes that effected my position. Nevertheless I stayed positive. I knew that I had a good bike and good tyres, so I got my head down and started to push forwards. I had a lot of battles and the first few laps were very hard but I fought my way up to tenth place. This put me back with the leaders and I was ready to battle with them when I made a mistake and my bike stopped at turn four. This was just one minute before the red flag, which is a real pity because if I could have ridden it back to the box, I would have been able to restart the race. It’s disappointing because I feel I had a big possibility to take a lot of points today; at one point I was the fastest rider on track. Anyway now I have to just refocus and concentrate on Sepang.”
“Before the race I felt good; I knew I had the pace to go with the front group. Unfortunately I didn’t make the best start off the line and then there were a lot of crashes that effected my position. Nevertheless I stayed positive. I knew that I had a good bike and good tyres, so I got my head down and started to push forwards. I had a lot of battles and the first few laps were very hard but I fought my way up to tenth place. This put me back with the leaders and I was ready to battle with them when I made a mistake and my bike stopped at turn four. This was just one minute before the red flag, which is a real pity because if I could have ridden it back to the box, I would have been able to restart the race. It’s disappointing because I feel I had a big possibility to take a lot of points today; at one point I was the fastest rider on track. Anyway now I have to just refocus and concentrate on Sepang.”
#7 Adam Norrodin: P11
“This is the best feeling! I’m so happy with this result today, especially after qualifying so far back on the grid. I knew I had to be really strong for this race and make a good result before heading to Malaysia. My start went really well; I felt so comfortable with the bike and I made it up to eighth position before the red flag came out. When we lined up to restart I knew that I had to make the most of this opportunity. I made another good start and was in the top six when I had a moment with another rider, so I dropped down to eighteenth. I didn’t want to lose this chance so I just said to myself, ‘crash or finish well’. I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could. I had a few moments but I managed to fight my way back up to eleventh. I’m so happy to come away with more points and go to my home GP on a positive note. We never expected to do so well here at a circuit that I have never been to before, so this is great result for us all. I want to say a big thanks to my team, family and friends who have supported me throughout the weekend even when things were not looking good. These people are so important and huge reason why I can leave Australia happy and motivated for Sepang.”
“This is the best feeling! I’m so happy with this result today, especially after qualifying so far back on the grid. I knew I had to be really strong for this race and make a good result before heading to Malaysia. My start went really well; I felt so comfortable with the bike and I made it up to eighth position before the red flag came out. When we lined up to restart I knew that I had to make the most of this opportunity. I made another good start and was in the top six when I had a moment with another rider, so I dropped down to eighteenth. I didn’t want to lose this chance so I just said to myself, ‘crash or finish well’. I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could. I had a few moments but I managed to fight my way back up to eleventh. I’m so happy to come away with more points and go to my home GP on a positive note. We never expected to do so well here at a circuit that I have never been to before, so this is great result for us all. I want to say a big thanks to my team, family and friends who have supported me throughout the weekend even when things were not looking good. These people are so important and huge reason why I can leave Australia happy and motivated for Sepang.”
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