Estrella Galicia 0,0 Moto3 riders Sergio Garcia Dols and Ryusei Yamanaka competed in their second race at Spielberg in two weeks this Sunday: The Grand Prix of Styria.
Garcia Dols claimed 10th place after a tough battle, in a race that was some 15 seconds faster than last week’s contest. Yamanaka climbed up the order from 27th to finish 15th. The winner of the race was Celestino Vietti.
Both the warmup and the race itself were held in dry conditions, with temperatures of around 22ºC (ambient) and 32ºC (track), cooler than those experienced in the Austrian GP last weekend.
The next round of the Moto3 World Championship will be the San Marino Grand Prix, which will be held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on the weekend of September 11-13th.
Sergio Garcia Dols (10th, +8.050)
Garcia Dols’ time of 1:37.117 in the warmup was the 17th fastest lap. At the start of the race itself, he was 13th on the grid, and the Spaniard remained in the points as part of the leading group.
As he progressed within the pack, he was up into 9th with only 6 laps remaining, but was hindered first by the group being cut by two crashes, and then a ‘long lap’ penalty handed to him. He crossed the line in 10th place, leaving him 16th in the overall standings with 19 points.
“It was definitely a very fast race, as almost every lap was in the 1’36s. I was able to keep up with the pace and was constantly in the leading group. On the final laps there was some contact and I went off the track, then I made some mistakes and I had to do a ‘long lap.’ In the end I finished tenth, which in such conditions is a good result. We will work to keep progressing and be as high up the order as possible.”
Ryusei Yamanaka (15th, +14.824)
Ryusei Yamanaka started his Sunday with 30th place in the warmup, with a 1:38.084 lap. At the start of the race, which he began from 27th on the grid, the Japanese rider gained ground to enter the second group, setting lap times up to 1.2 seconds faster than his qualifying time.
Through consistency and a good pace, he approached the final part of the race in 17th, then gained two places to take the chequered flag in 15th. Yamanaka is now 21st in the World Championship, with 8 points.
“I’m not exactly euphoric, but I’m satisfied with how the race went, considering I was 27th on the grid. It had been difficult for me to set fast times in practice, but in the race I did my best on the first lap to take my opportunity to grow as a rider. I improved my start and I think I also improved my management of the race itself. I had a good battle and I eventually finished 15th. I am not completely happy, but this is the second time I have scored points.”
