The Estrella Galicia 0,0 Moto3 riders took on the 22-lap Dutch TT this Sunday, amidst high temperatures and stronger wind than in previous days. The race was won by Tony Aroblino.
Alonso Lopez gained ground after starting from 24th on the grid, crossing the line 10th to continue meeting his objective of consistent points scoring. Sergio Garcia Dols earned 15th, after an intense fight for places and having to complete a ‘long lap’ penalty.
Estrella Galicia 0,0 will be back on track on July 5th, for the first free practice for the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring.
ALONSO LÓPEZ – “Starting from 24th on the grid, our goal was to score points”
Alonso Lopez should have started 18th on the grid due to his qualifying lap time of 1:44.718, but was penalised for an incident during Friday’s FP2 session that placed him 24th. In the warm up on Sunday morning, his best time was 1:42.963 (15th).
When the lights went out, the Spaniard gained seven positions on the opening lap. Shortly after, he would drop slightly down the order, but recovered ground to reach a steady 18th past the halfway point, at the back of a large front group.
On the final laps his pace increased and he broke into the points, benefitting from crashes by several rivals to claim tenth place at the line. Lopez is now 16th in the World Championship with 33 points.
“I gained a lot of places on the first lap and showed the true pace I had. On the following laps I got stuck somewhat with riders who were being very aggressive, as it was hard to overtake, but after the incident involving several riders crashing I managed to keep gaining positions without much difficulty. I’m satisfied with tenth place, because starting from 24th on the grid, our goal was to score points.”
SERGIO GARCÍA – “The ‘long lap’ made me lose a lot of ground”
In Q2 for the fourth consecutive race, Sergio Garcia Dols achieved a best time of 1:42.428 in qualifying that put him 16th on the grid, although he moved up a place due to a penalty for another rider. In the warmup he was 26th, with a 1:43.519.
The Spaniard advanced by one place at the start and joined the large leading group. Constant changes of positions led to him falling to 19th, before getting back into the points.
In the final part of the race he was handed a ‘long lap’ penalty, which left him in 23rd. Garcia Dols would work his way back up to 15th thereafter. He is now 26th in the overall standings with 4 points.
“At the beginning of the race I was riding with the large front group, although I think the entire grid was. There was a lot of contact between riders, and I was hindered by that; when the group broke up, I lost contact, but was able to come back. However, after that we were given a long lap penalty and I lost a lot of ground. At least I have gained experience and scored points. The weekend has been positive, although I needed to manage things better in Q2.”
