El gran dominador de la Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup en Assen ha sido Raúl Fernández. El piloto español de 15 años logro la pole y hoy se ha hecho con su segunda victoria del fin de semana. Las condiciones de la pista no eran sencillas y Fernández ha tenido que librar una bonita batalla con Ayumu Sasaki y Rory Skinner mientras que el piloto local Walid Soppe ha sufrido una salida de pista en la última vuelta cuando estaba en cabeza.
Mientras el público se lamentaba el español ha reconocido la fortuna que ha tenido ya que «iba a ser segundo» aunque ha admitido que lo importante era sumar puntos de cara al campeonato. «Ha sido un fin de semana perfecto para mi. Aunque ha sido complicado debido a la meteorología y las condiciones de la pista todo ha salido perfecto» ha explicado Fernández.
Por su parte, el japonés Sasaki ha confirmado que es un piloto con mucha consistencia. En las cuatro primeras carreras de la temporada ha finalizado segundo, primero, cuarto y de nuevo segundo. Queda claro que el piloto japonés será uno de los aspirantes al título esta temporada.
Tras perderse las dos primeras carreras de la temporada en Jerez, Skinner sufría una caída en la primera manga de Assen. Hoy ha logrado terminar tercero en su primera carrera finalizada en 2016.
Sad Soppe
Having done all the hard work and caught the leading trio of Sasaki, Fernández and Skinner, 16-year-old Soppe jumped into a clear lead starting lap 12 of 14. His pace caught the other by surprise and though Fernández chased the win should have gone to the Dutchman. “From the start the front guys were quick and I just wanted to settle in and be smooth,” he explained.
“Then I got into a rhythm, started to touch my knees down and could really feel what the bike was doing. In the end I caught them quite quick and went straight into the lead. The tyres had gone away a bit by then, I certainly didn’t have to crash, but I did.”
Points leader
Second, first, fourth and second shows how consistent Sasaki’s season has been so far but the 15-year-old Japanese wants to be winning. “In the first race I didn’t want to take any risks and I finished fourth. For this race I wanted to be in front, there I was happy to make the pace and keep my rhythm.”
“In the end we were caught and I couldn’t keep the lead but second is OK for the championship, I still have the lead and a little gap over Fernández, we will see what happens in Sachsenring,” he added with the inscrutable expression he reserves for interviews.
Third in first
Having missed the first two races of the season through injury, 14-year-old Skinner also missed out on Assen 1 when Kaito Toba fell in front of him. So making the podium in the first race he finished was an OK result. “Yes I’m happy about that. So glad to get some points and a great way to finish a weekend that started so badly with the cancelled flight that made us miss the first session.”
“I got a good start and was happy to go with the other two. I made a couple of mistakes and was finding it hard to stay with them but then the others caught up and we all bunched up together again. I’d been missing out coming out of the chicane, a bit too cautious early on but I got better by the end of the race and the last few laps were great fun.”
The Rookies Cup continues at the Sachsenring on July 16th and 17th with races 5 and 6 of the 13.