GONZALEZ EIGHTH IN MANDALIKA RACE
Manuel Gonzalez put together a solid performance at Mandalika, in what was the fifteenth race of the season. The Spanish rider, who started the encounter from fourth place on the grid, managed to get up to speed from the get-go. He battled for Lopez for third up to the final lap, when his front tucked and he was forced to run wide – dropping down to eighth position.
Albert Arenas had a good start from fourteenth place, and he was within the top ten already after a couple of corners. To avoid a collision, he was forced to run wide and outside the track and re-joined in 24th position. From then on, his comeback began: with a quick and consistent pace, he made his way back to fourteenth at the flag.
8th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18
“I’m very angry for today’s race. I was really quick but I couldn’t dictate my pace: I got stuck behind another rider battling for the podium for the whole encounter; I tried to overtake him but I was too much on the limit. I tried at many spots on the track, but I couldn’t stay ahead of him. We need to learn from this, but we’re also bringing home some positives from this race.”
14th – ALBERT ARENAS #75
“Today I had a really good start as I recovered four positions, but at turn 10 I was forced wide in order to avoid a collision and re-joined almost last. From then on I had to bounce back: my race pace was good, but I had lost all opportunities already. It was a difficult weekend, but result aside, we had a solid race and showed a pace that matched the frontrunners’. We can make amends in Japan.”
