Circuit: Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana
Circuit Length: 4.0 km
Circuit Length: 4.0 km
The final Moto3 race of 2016 saw mixed emotions for the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team with Jakub Kornfeil having a heroic ride to 7th place, whilst teammate Adam Norrodin was hindered with a technical issue, concluding the Valencia Grand Prix in 27th position.
Riding the #84 Honda for the last time, Jakub Kornfeil made an emotional exit from the team, giving everything to the season finale. The 23-year-old made a blistering start off the line gaining an impressive twelve places in the first lap alone. Putting in one of his best performances of the year, Kornfeil ploughed his way through the field and up to fifth place. Fighting with the leaders and setting some of the fastest laps of the race, the Czech rider overcame an unfortunate penalty and deteriorating tyres, to conclude his sensational performance in a superb seventh place and achieving 8th place overall in the Moto3 World Championship.
Adam Norrodin ended his rookie year in the field on a tougher note, as he battled with a technical issue from the start of the twenty four lap race. Refusing to give up but unable to make any significant progress, the young Malaysian rider admirably persevered as he tried to build his rhythm and improve his pace. Despite his finishing position today, Norrodin is happy with what he has learned during his first year in the 250cc class and is confident that he can come back fighting for the team in 2017.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“Jakub did an unbelievable job in his race today; the first few laps he was on fire. He really wanted to do well here and that’s exactly what he did. He caught the first group and was with them running in the top five for the majority of the race. From starting in twenty fourth position, this was fantastic to see. I’m very pleased with Jakub’s performance today. It’s a shame he had to drop one position during the race due to exceeding the track limit, but it was still an exceptional race from him and we couldn’t have asked for a lot more. I’m very happy to have finished eighth overall in the Championship with Jakub; this is our best position in Moto3 after these first two years.
Unfortunately for Adam he had a very difficult race here in Valencia. From the start he struggled to get up to speed. He couldn’t find his rhythm and from the beginning of the race he felt like there was something not quite right with the bike, so it was very hard for him to make any progress. He finished but not in the way we had hoped for. Now he has to go back and work hard over the winter so that he is strong both mentally and physically for next year.
I want to say thank you to Jakub, Adam and the whole team; everyone has given there all to this year and have done an amazing job. We have adapted well to the Honda and improved throughout the season. We will again continue with Honda next year, so I’m confident that this will give us a good advantage for 2017.”
“Jakub did an unbelievable job in his race today; the first few laps he was on fire. He really wanted to do well here and that’s exactly what he did. He caught the first group and was with them running in the top five for the majority of the race. From starting in twenty fourth position, this was fantastic to see. I’m very pleased with Jakub’s performance today. It’s a shame he had to drop one position during the race due to exceeding the track limit, but it was still an exceptional race from him and we couldn’t have asked for a lot more. I’m very happy to have finished eighth overall in the Championship with Jakub; this is our best position in Moto3 after these first two years.
Unfortunately for Adam he had a very difficult race here in Valencia. From the start he struggled to get up to speed. He couldn’t find his rhythm and from the beginning of the race he felt like there was something not quite right with the bike, so it was very hard for him to make any progress. He finished but not in the way we had hoped for. Now he has to go back and work hard over the winter so that he is strong both mentally and physically for next year.
I want to say thank you to Jakub, Adam and the whole team; everyone has given there all to this year and have done an amazing job. We have adapted well to the Honda and improved throughout the season. We will again continue with Honda next year, so I’m confident that this will give us a good advantage for 2017.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil: P7
“I feel very happy; if someone told me we would get this result before the race I would not have believed them. To go from twenty fourth to seventh is great. I really enjoyed it. Many times I was the fastest guy on track. It felt really good to be able to overtake people the way I did and I really enjoyed fighting from the beginning; my bike was so good and it was my bike that allowed me to do this. I’m very happy for the setting and what my crew chief did because if I didn’t have this, for sure I wouldn’t have finished the first lap in eleventh place. The only small issue I had was that my tyres were going off because I was too aggressive with them at the beginning of the race; this is why I couldn’t stay with the leading group at the very end. The last eight or nine laps were quite hard and it was very much about damage limitation. With a few laps to go I got a penalty, so unfortunately I had to let one other rider in front of me. I lost a position but then I passed him again and was trying to catch the others ahead, but by then there just wasn’t enough laps left.
I want to say a huge thanks to my guys! My bike is so good now and this makes it very difficult to leave the team; the basic setting is so strong. Nevertheless I have had a great two years with everyone and I’m very happy to end our time together with a good result. It’s a little bit emotional.
Thank you to all the sponsors who made this year happen, the fans and especially my crew who never made any mistakes, always supported me and gave their all; they are fantastic! I want to say a huge thank you and goodbye.”
“I feel very happy; if someone told me we would get this result before the race I would not have believed them. To go from twenty fourth to seventh is great. I really enjoyed it. Many times I was the fastest guy on track. It felt really good to be able to overtake people the way I did and I really enjoyed fighting from the beginning; my bike was so good and it was my bike that allowed me to do this. I’m very happy for the setting and what my crew chief did because if I didn’t have this, for sure I wouldn’t have finished the first lap in eleventh place. The only small issue I had was that my tyres were going off because I was too aggressive with them at the beginning of the race; this is why I couldn’t stay with the leading group at the very end. The last eight or nine laps were quite hard and it was very much about damage limitation. With a few laps to go I got a penalty, so unfortunately I had to let one other rider in front of me. I lost a position but then I passed him again and was trying to catch the others ahead, but by then there just wasn’t enough laps left.
I want to say a huge thanks to my guys! My bike is so good now and this makes it very difficult to leave the team; the basic setting is so strong. Nevertheless I have had a great two years with everyone and I’m very happy to end our time together with a good result. It’s a little bit emotional.
Thank you to all the sponsors who made this year happen, the fans and especially my crew who never made any mistakes, always supported me and gave their all; they are fantastic! I want to say a huge thank you and goodbye.”
#7 Adam Norrodin: P27
“After crashing in qualifying my confidence was not so high this morning but I was able to build it back up during Warm Up and I felt ready for the race. My start off the line went well and I gained some positions, but then very quickly I felt that something wasn’t quite right with the front of the bike. It felt very strange and I was quite nervous to push too much. Unfortunately this is why I dropped so far back. I’m disappointed because I really wanted to finish my first season in Moto3 with a good result. I’m sorry to the team that I couldn’t do this today. I would also like to thank them for all their hard work this year; for trusting in me and giving me this chance. I have learned a lot. Next year I will come back stronger.”
“After crashing in qualifying my confidence was not so high this morning but I was able to build it back up during Warm Up and I felt ready for the race. My start off the line went well and I gained some positions, but then very quickly I felt that something wasn’t quite right with the front of the bike. It felt very strange and I was quite nervous to push too much. Unfortunately this is why I dropped so far back. I’m disappointed because I really wanted to finish my first season in Moto3 with a good result. I’m sorry to the team that I couldn’t do this today. I would also like to thank them for all their hard work this year; for trusting in me and giving me this chance. I have learned a lot. Next year I will come back stronger.”
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