‘Aspar’ happy with chassis switch

The first Moto2 race for the Mapfre Aspar team on the Suter chassis ended in success on Sunday, as Julián Simón secured his and the team’s first podium finish of the 2010 campaign in the intermediate class.

The result came after the Spanish outfit opted to change to the Swiss-made frame following a relatively disappointing opening two rounds, in which Simón managed to amass just eight points across Qatar and Jerez.

However, there was an instant reward at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France where Simón finished second in the race on board the Suter, and whilst his team-mate Mike di Meglio placed 20th team boss Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ underlined his confidence that the decision to change had been the right one.

“We planned to start the season with an Aprilia chassis, but at the last moment they decided not to manufacture them. So we opted for RSV, thinking that would give us guarantees. We saw a bike that was very good and very competitive but that we would have to evolve during the World Championship, which for us would have been a real problem,” explained the team boss in an interview with motogp.com.

“At Jerez our riders complained about the situation, so we decided to change to Suter. We think it’s been the correct decision as our riders are more comfortable and content, and I hope it has been worthwhile,” added ‘Aspar’.

Simón’s result saw the 125cc World Champion rise from 13th to fourth in the overall standings, and the Spaniard was delighted to be back challenging at the top of the race.

“I am very happy with my first podium in this new category, especially as I debuted the new bike with a top-three finish,” Simón declared. “We have to keep working because we still have some way to go in fine tuning the bike, but I want to thank everybody in the team and those sponsoring us for supporting the decision to change chassis during the season."