Kawasaki aftertalk Riola Sardo

RIola was not an unmitigated success for the Greens. Or so they say themselves, somewhat euphemistically. Still, I felt that across the board, they were decisive in the match.

Romain Febvre: “I was quite strong in the first race, but in the second moto I lost my flow on the track. Today wasn't great, but they were good points for the championship. The starts were very positive all weekend and I hope we can carry that trend across all types of circuits. We made some adjustments to the front fork and that worked very well in the deep sand. I crashed three laps before the end of the first moto; it didn't cost me any positions, but it did cost me energy that I lacked in the second moto. I do my absolute best in every race, but today it just wasn't enough for the podium.”

Paul's Jonass: “The first heat was a big improvement over yesterday, although I lost my rhythm briefly halfway through before getting back up to speed at the end. I had a good start in the second race, but crashed in the second corner; I wanted to go on the inside, but couldn't turn in during the scramble and rode over the barrier into the wall. That was a shame. I moved back to the front after that; I felt good riding alone, but it was difficult to overtake. It was a typical Riola; it is always tough here.”

Mathis Valin: “The first moto was very short. I had a good start, but right on the first lap I had problems and had to stop. For the second race we switched to the spare bike, but I didn't have the same feeling with the clutch at the start. After a few laps I found my flow and was able to push. The speed was there and at the end I wasn't far from P3; I tried for several laps to find a way past Reisulis, but I didn't have any tear-offs left on my goggles.”

Kay Karssemakers: “It was a good weekend with a seventh place; I was consistently fast in both motos right up to the finish. In the first moto, I had a good start and rode in sixth place for twenty minutes. After that, I lost my rhythm for a few laps, but I found it again at the end to secure eighth place. I rode a very good first corner in the second moto and came out in fifth, but Farres pushed me off the track in the second corner, meaning I had to start all over again from outside the top ten. I fought until the end and found my flow halfway through the race to finish seventh. We are building on this every week; our first goal was to always ride in the top ten and we are already there; the next step is to push for the top five and I hope to be on the podium before the end of the season.”

Francisco Garcia: “I’m really bummed with myself for that stupid mistake in the first lap, but I came back to second place overall and kept the red plate. Now we’re going back to basics to train as hard as possible, avoid mistakes, and focus on the next race to win again.”