Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders Sergio Garcia Dols and Ryusei Yamanaka took on the Catalan Grand Prix race this Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Garcia Dols finished 4th and Yamanaka finished 15th in a 21-lap race, won by South African rider Darryn Binder.
The weather for race day was skies and temperatures of 12 ºC (ambient) and 13 ºC (track) during the warmup, rising to 19 ºC and 21 ºC, respectively, with partially cloudy skies, at the start of the race.
Estrella Galicia 0,0 will be back in action on October 9th, for the first Free Practice sessions for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
Sergio García Dols (4th, +0.232)
Sergio Garcia Dols started 10th on the grid with a time of 1:48.824, set in Q2 on Saturday. With low temperatures and little grip during the warmup, he registered the 30th fastest time of the session, a 1:51.581.
Off the start he moved up into seventh, joining the leading group. After eight laps he was into the Top 3, involved in the fight for victory until the last lap, although he finally crossed the finish line in fourth place. This result puts him 16th in the World Championship with 32 points.
“It has been a positive weekend in which we worked to have a good race pace. I was calm at the start and gained positions, riding with the front group. It was a shame to lose time at the end fighting for overtakes, because I went wide on a corner and that prevented me from fighting for the podium. Nevertheless, I think that we have taken a step forward and I hope that we continue in the same way.”
Ryusei Yamanaka (15th, +5.042)
The Japanese rider set a time of 1:50.527 in the warmup, the 16th quickest in the session. He started from 26th, thanks to his 1:49.960 lap in Q1 from Saturday.
He held his position in a large group when the lights went out, fighting for a spot in the Top 20 after the first third of the race. Past the halfway mark he was in 17th, in the second group, and would go on to claim points with a 15th place finish. Yamanaka is 22nd in the overall standings with 13 points.
“I enjoyed myself a lot, because I fought hard all the way through. I didn’t have a great start, so everything was more difficult. I had a group in front of me and I managed to catch up with them. Then I wanted to continue pushing, but it was very difficult for me to overtake the rider in front of me. I concentrated on riding fast and we were in the second group until the end. It was a shame not to reach the front group, and it was difficult, but at least we managed to score points, which is always important and motivates us for the next race.”
