The Swiss rider was looking forward with confidence to race-day action after a storming ride to fifth in Qualifying but he faced a tough time on race day after an awkward first turn in race one and an early fall in race two. He stuck defiantly to the task in the first moto to move forward from fourteenth to clinch his eventual ninth three laps from the finish with a series of regular laps from start to finish. A fifth-placed start in race two augured well, but a slip on lap two cost five positions; regrouping strongly Jeremy made a series of impressive passes to work his way back to sixth at the finish to also secure sixth overall on the day and in the series points-standings.
Jeremy Seewer: “Luckily it wasn’t quite as muddy this weekend as in Portugal and France but it was not easy in the conditions; the track was different every session with the weather continually changing – rai , no rain, and they were always out there with the bulldozer. All those tight corners made it tricky with the set-up; there was no flow. I was simply not satisfied with my first race, but the second was better; it was just a shame I had that small crash. Mentally it was frustrating because I am normally really strong on this type of track when the weather doesn’t play tricks, but that’s life.”
Romain Febvre’s title ambitions suffered a set-back when he was forced to withdraw from racing on the second lap of race one whilst holding a battling eighth as the pain from the thumb injury sustained two weeks ago in France became unbearable. The scoreless day means that the Frenchman drops to fourth in the points standings, seven-five points shy of the series pace-setter.
Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “Of course it’s a big disappointment for everyone – Romain, Kawasaki and the team – with the situation after Romain’s injury in the first training in France. He tried everything possible to make it happen and his results in France and yesterday in Qualifying showed just what a big heart he has, but there are limits and today the pain was just too great to continue. Now we need to get it sorted and return even stronger than ever.”
