2nd Oct 2023
ARBOLINO POCKETS IMPORTANT POINTS IN TRICKY JAPANESE GP
Tony Arbolino fought until the final lap at the Mobility Resort Motegi on Sunday to finish 11th place while Sam Lowes crashed out of a promising 5th.
The threat of rain was ever present on Sunday at the Mobility Resort Motegi circuit but it held off for the Moto2 race, which got underway at 13:15 local time as 40,908 people were in attendance.
Tony started well from 13th on the grid to gain 2 places on lap 1 and sit among a multi-rider fight for the top 6.
But the Italian wasn’t feeling comfortable on his bike. A mistake when braking for Turn 11 on lap 12 dropped him to 12th. He kept fighting and was able to pass Alonso Lopez for 11th on the final lap.
Tony remains second in the World Championship with 202 points, 50 behind leader Pedro Acosta.
SAM LOWES, DNF
“I’m very disappointed with today. The team did a great job all weekend. The bike was good in the race but the conditions were difficult and I just made a small mistake in the last corner. It’s a shame because I was fighting for nice positions, in the top five. Already in the first laps I was able to go forward, which has been a problem in races before this year. That was positive. We just need to take the positives from the weekend and take them to Indonesia. Sorry to the team for the small mistake. It’s unfortunate to happen this weekend after last weekend’s problem. We’ll keep working and thanks to the team for all their hard work.”
TONY ARBOLINO, 11th
“I was unable to do any better today. I tried everything but I was still suffering with the bike during the race. I just wasn’t feeling good and couldn’t get comfortable. These are things that can happen. We’ve faced it and we need to understand why so we can be better at the next race. There is still a lot of racing to go this year so I’m still up for the fight. I’m still motivated. My mind feels good. I feel good with everything and everyone around me so we’ll keep going so we can return even stronger in Indonesia.”