Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders Alonso Lopez and Sergio Garcia Dols contested the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit.
Rookie Garcia Dols crossed the finish line in second place. Lopez would not take the chequered flag after a crash on the opening laps of a dry race, won by Italian rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta.
The duo will be back on track on November 15th for the first Free Practice for the Valencian Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the finale of the 2019 season.
ALONSO LÓPEZ – “It was a shame about the crash; I was riding with a lot of confidence”
Lopez clocked the 14th best time in the morning warmup (2:13.180), occupying 10th place on the grid thanks to a 2:12.396 lap in Q2.
He kept up with the frontrunners early on, as part of the group trying to escape after four laps.
On Lap 5, however, he had an unavoidable collision with another rider’s bike coming out of Turn 4, fortunately escaping without serious injury from a big crash.
Lopez is 15th in the World Championship standings with 71 points.
“I made a good start, although the group pulled over to the right, giving them a little slipstream whilst I struggled a little to gain speed. I went outside and more or less held my position. After that, I started to gain places and was feeling very comfortable. I consolidated my position among the frontrunners, but then Gabriel Rodrigo crashed and I couldn’t avoid Tatsuki Suzukis bike. It was a shame after a good weekend. We had great pace, I was riding with a lot of confidence and that allowed me to overtake steadily. I take away the more positive side of the weekend.”
SERGIO GARCÍA – “We went into the final corner on the limit; It was an incredible race”
The Spaniard set a time of 2:13,447 in the warmup on Sunday morning, placing 17th in the session. He occupied 13th position on the grid with a time of 2:12.790 in Q2.
He held his place off the start, but on the following laps he lost ground and dropped to 17th. He continued to recover places to climb to fifth, with 8 laps remaining.
Coming into the last lap, Garcia Dols was in fourth place, riding in the lead group. He grabbed second place on the last corner before the finish line, claiming his first World Championship podium. The Spaniard occupies 22nd in the standings with 51 points.
“It was a very hard race, very hot and with a lot of overtaking. I knew I could be up at the front, although I didn’t imagine I would be fighting for the podium. I kept overtaking other riders, but I didn’t see it as a clear possibility until the last lap. We went into the final corner on the limit. I thought I was going to crash, but in the end we held on. It was an incredible race and I’m very happy. I want to thank my family and my team. I also want to dedicate this podium to Afridza Munandar, the Asia Talent Cup rider who died in Saturday’s race.”
