Di Meglio pushing for podiums after Corsi cuts advantage

Thursday, 3 July 2008

Mike di Meglio is eyeing a return to form in Sachsenring after a seventh-place salvage operation in Assen

Seventh place in Assen was enough for Mike di Meglio to hold onto his leadership of the 125cc World Championship, with the top spot advantage reduced to 16 points. The Ajo Motorsport rider had won the previous lower cylinder category `two-parter´ in Le Mans and, whilst the result in the Netherlands wasn´t quite to the Frenchman´s taste, Di Meglio admits that the chance to regroup played into his hands.

`It was a very tough race for me. After the first start my bike wasn´t performing really and I wasn´t quick enough in the straight,´ explains Di Meglio, who rides with a factory-backed Derbi machine this season.

`I was around 15-16th place and just staying in that position was really hard in those conditions. We were able to get back to the garage before the second start and after my engine was much better.´

From the restart Di Meglio took off from twelfth, and encountered further problems when coming into contact with a group of riders. A further bout of fairing bashing with Sandro Cortese also lost him time on the five-lap sprint, although a late comeback to overtake Nico Terol and Andrea Iannone rescued positions and reduced the impact of title rival Simone Corsi´s third place.

`I feel that with an extra lap I could have made onto the podium, but it´s always very hard in a five laps stint like this because all riders are pushing really hard and give their best, it can get a bit hectic and there's lot of contact, but that's racing,´ reflected the 20 year-old, setting his sights on a fifth rostrum finish of the season at the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland next weekend.

`Finishing seventh is a bit disappointing in those conditions, but in the end I got some points and it´s good for the championship. Next time in Sachsenring it will be important to be able to fight for a win, or at least for the podium, in order to head into the summer break in a good position.´

Di Meglio has only once completed a race at Sachsenring, when last year he took fifteenth place after qualifying nineteenth.