On February 24th in Zurich, Switzerland, Dynavolt Intact GP unveiled their machines that will take part in the 2019 Moto2™ and MotoE™ Championships.
Marcel Schrötter continues into his third season with the German team this and for 2019 he is joined by Tom Luthi, the Swiss rider returning to the intermediate class after a year in MotoGP™.
As for Jesko Raffin, he and the Dynavolt Intact GP team will be taking part in the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup this season.
Schrötter: “I've been in this Championship for a while and have a lot of experience too. Tom and I have known each other for a long time and have been together in a team before. It's a good combination and we get along very well with each other. For me it is interesting to see how Tom works in the box. I can certainly see a few points or compare what he does or what I do better. Here we can surely complement each other very well. In the test we rode together a couple of times and I think it can also be useful in Qatar because the slipstream is important there. But above all, it's important for our work with the new bike, with which we still try a lot and which we have to learn to understand.
“After the first laps on the new bike last November I had a smile under my helmet. As a rider you always have fun as soon as you have more power available, especially out of the corners. Nevertheless, the bike was quite similar to what I had before. It was a good sign that I could feel comfortable on it again very quickly. Now there is still time for me to learn to better understand the electronics. We don't have very much available, but there are points like the engine brake and gearshift that can be very decisive down to tenths of a second. On the whole it's a lot of fun to ride the bike. We won't have such extreme slides anymore, which some people could probably miss. But I think regarding duels you'll see more overtaking manoeuvres on the brakes.”
Luthi: “Last year in MotoGP was a difficult year for me, but I still learned a lot. Now I've joined the new team and met a lot of motivated people. That's exactly what I need. I'm motivated myself like I haven't been for a long time. Of course that helps a lot. It's a cool group and it welds together. I really believe that we are very well positioned. I think it's cool to be in a team with Marcel. That's not new for the two of us. We were teammates before, although in two different classes. I've been in the World Championship for many years, but Marcel also has a lot of Moto2 experience. That will help us both to push each other. Already during the test we were able to ride together on the track from time to time. That's perfect for both of us, especially now that we need to get to know the bike better.
“Coming from MotoGP, where you have so much power, is of course a change. Technically I have to forget MotoGP. I can take a few things with me, but it's good that I can now tackle something completely new. I was surprised how much power there is in the deep gears of the bike. It's an exciting bike, which has a lot of potential.
“I'm excited for Qatar and to finally start the season. But it's good that we still have a test there before the first race. I hope that we'll be within the front group and that we'll be able to keep this up throughout the season.”
Raffin: “Of course, I didn't know what to expect at the beginning. You heard a lot, but I just couldn't imagine it. Until you've tried it yourself, you can't form an opinion. If I am honest, I had doubts at first. But after riding the bike, I can say that it's still racing, otherwise I wouldn't do it. I have to change the riding style completely. It is necessary to brake earlier and turn into the corner earlier because the bike is not that agile and you can hardly correct mistakes. So during the test in March it will be important to find the way to go fast with this bike and to analyse the behaviour of the battery, the tyres and everything that goes with it and how we have to tactic so we can get the maximum out of it. I'm also really happy when it finally starts.”
Jurgen Lingg, Team Manager: “After all these years, it still feels great to have put such a team together. It was always a dream of mine. I could hardly imagine that this would one day come true. But thanks to Stefan Keckeisen and Wolfgang Kuhn it was possible to get this project done. We are happy about it, continue like this and of course try to still make a step forward. We are looking forward to the first race and are happy that we can now head to Qatar. But it's also very good that we will have another test there, because we still have to sort out a few things. But then the first race can come and I think we are ready!”