It is with deep sympathy to announce that this weekend was sadly marked by the loss of the Moto2 rider, Luis Salom. Although the racing continued, there was a subdued atmosphere , as Nolan riders (on a modified track-due to security reasons) performed well in the three race classes obtaining excellent results. In Moto3, there was a podium win for Enea Bastianini and tenth place for Jakub Kornfeil. In Moto2, there was a notable fourth place for Hafizh Syahrin , while in Moto GP, a good ninth place for Danilo Petrucci and a twelfth place for Stefan Bradl. We at Nolan, and all of our riders, would like to express our deepest sorrow for the terribly unfortunate loss of Luis Salom and our thoughts and compassion are with his family.
MotoGP
Danilo Petrucci 9th
"It was a good race until five laps from the chequered flag when I managed to pass Dovizioso. I was calm throughout the race to preserve the rear tire and I thought I could play with him for seventh. Then I felt that the rubber was over, almost suddenly, and it was very risky. I do not know what was the problem, maybe it depends on our set up as the tire that we used was the same as Valentino, Marquez and Pedrosa. However, I want to thank the team for the great job they have done: we have proven to be competitive in any circuit. I would have liked to be the best Ducati".
Stefan Bradl 12th“We achieved a good result in conditions that were not very easy, but I cannot be entirely satisfied. In fact, our times were quite a few seconds off Alvaro's, whereas usually our pace is quite similar. Now we need to investigate this aspect in view of the next races. The positive side is that the only person who overtook me in the race was my own teammate. We figured out that in these conditions, where tyre management makes the difference, even the slightest change has a significant impact on the bike's performance. We'll use the tests tomorrow to look at this situation more in depth and to have some clearer ideas for the coming races”.
Moto2
Hafizh Syajrin 4th
"My bike was in percect conditions and I've managed to control my race very well. We were a little bit concerned about the racetrack temperatures but everything has been fine for us.
I thank PETRONAS and all my sponsors for believing in us.
For sure we are going to work hard in order to achieve better results".
Moto3
Enea Bastianini 3rd
“It’s a nice feeling to be back on the podium! Today I had a good set-up that allowed me to be strong, especially when braking, and as a result I was able to fight for the win till the end. When Fenati passed me with two laps to go, Navarro managed to open a little gap and I knew it would be difficult to catch him, and so it was. However, on the final lap I managed to make a nice pass on Romano, taking the podium, which was our target for this Grand Prix. I had not an easy period lately, but being back means that we never lost confidence and concentration. It’s also nice to be here because I’m back from an injury: this result is undoubtedly a great satisfaction for me and for the team and a big boost of confidence”.
Jakub Kornfeil 10th
“My race start was not good and I passed only one guy in the first lap. I started to find my rhythm and was able to begin passing riders; I made it up to ninth place and caught the leading group. I was fighting with Antonelli a lot, but then I saw the first group start to pull away. I knew that we had to be smart and try to catch them again. Unfortunately Antonelli was so fast in the corners and I couldn’t catch him; I struggled for grip throughout the race. I lost contact with him and the leaders and then the group behind caught me. We had a big battle but I was able to make a pass on one of the riders to finish in tenth. I believe we had the potential to be seventh today but overall after such a difficult weekend from the start, I’m happy to leave here with 10th place and more championship points.”
