The Grand Prix of Malaysia ended in a big disappointment for NTS RW Racing GP. Bo Bendsneyder crashed at the end of the first lap, Jesko Raffin finished in twentieth place. That was not what the team and riders had hoped for after the good qualification. It was a combination of factors that caused problems. An important factor was that it was a lot warmer on the Sepang International Circuit than during the earlier sessions of the Moto2, so that the grip was a lot less and especially the front became unpredictable. This was also apparent from the many crashes: nine. However, it was no consolation for Bendsneyder that he was by no means the only one. Already at the end of the first lap, in the last corner, his race ended with a hard blow on the tarmac. Jesko Raffin made it to the end of the race, but certainly not at the place that the Swiss had in mind after a start from sixteenth place. Every lap he lost time and positions, particularly on the straights. He crossed the line in twentieth, more than half a minute (37.044) from winner Brad Binder.
Bo Bendsneyder: “The feeling in the warmup was better than the feeling yesterday, so I had good hope that it could fight for a point, but after one lap it was all over. The start was good and in the first lap I was able to make up for a number of places. I was behind Bulega, who came out of the turn in too high a gear, so that we entered the first straight too slowly. Someone came by, who I wanted to catch up with immediately. I did not get the bike in second gear properly. As a result, I went too fast into the last corner and I lost the front. I fell hard on my right shoulder. It hurts, but otherwise I’m fine. In the first place I am disappointed and very sorry that I have not been able to reward my crew, who worked so hard this weekend.”
Race results:
Pos | Rider | Team | Time / Gap |
1 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 38’07.843 |
2 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 0.758 |
3 | Thomas LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 2.683 |
4 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 6.646 |
5 | Jorge NAVARRO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 7.114 |
6 | Iker LECUONA | American Racing KTM | 8.582 |
7 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 9.232 |
8 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 10.180 |
9 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 10.807 |
10 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 14.585 |
11 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 16.521 |
12 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 22.333 |
13 | Mattia PASINI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 23.326 |
14 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 23.810 |
15 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 24.002 |
16 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 24.055 |
17 | Jake DIXON | Gaviota Angel Nieto Team | 27.663 |
18 | Dimas EKKY PRATAMA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 29.455 |
19 | Joe ROBERTS | American Racing KTM | 30.896 |
20 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS RW Racing GP | 37.044 |
21 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 50.548 |
22 | Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 54.921 |
23 | Xavi CARDELUS | Gaviota Angel Nieto Team | +1’00.678 |
24 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1 Lap |
Not Classified | |||
Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 5 Laps | |
Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 6 Laps | |
Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 8 Laps | |
Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 10 Laps | |
Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 11 Laps | |
Adam NORRODIN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 13 Laps | |
Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 16 Laps | |
Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 0 Lap |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com