Rider quotes from all classes after our boys and girls fight hard for solid results despite stacks and setbacks
Jack Miller – MotoGP (P5, P8)
Qualifying ninth, Jack’s Sprint start was hindered by running over a tear off. But from there he could recover to score his best Saturday result of the year. After a strong Sunday start, the 30-year-old was holding on with a used rear tyre in the final laps. “I got away decent and was comfortable, trying to get back to Fabio. Got a message from the boys to switch to map three with eight to go and it just went to shit. Whether I gave too much at the beginning… I didn’t have anything left. I was glad to see the chequered flag; 25s away from Marc is a pain in the arse.”
Senna Agius – Moto2 (P11)
Senna was seconds away from a maiden pole on Saturday, but was shuffled back to fourth at the last minute. He then jumped the start on Sunday (the second time this year) and rejoined in 17th after serving a Double Long Lap. His recovery was little comfort, with the 19-year-old inconsolable post-race. “Unfortunately, I made this mistake again. I’m really upset for myself, for the team, for everyone. I really think we could have fought for the victory today. It’s my fault and no one else’s. I’m really apologetic. I could’ve got inside the top ten (if there was no red flag) but this wasn’t what we achieved. Luckily, we get to go again in Brno in a few days.”
Joel Kelso – Moto3 (P6)
A strong comeback from Joel meant he climbed seven places and finished just a half-second off the victor, which was some achievement after a terrifying 195km/h crash on Saturday morning. The 22-year-old started slowly from 13th but gradually worked his way forward. “I’m really happy, especially after crashing at the fastest corner on the track. It was a good way to bounce back. I had a lot of painkillers but was still in a lot of pain. My ankle is throbbing a lot now, but that was a good comeback. At least we were fighting for the podium and we managed the race well. We kept pushing even if the pain was getting worse.”
Jacob Roulstone – Moto3 (P8)
This was Jacob’s best result of the year – not bad after wet-weather struggles meant he qualified 18th. Even more pleasing: his aggression early on to breach the top ten, plus finishing 0.8s off the winner, is the closest he’s been since joining the world championship. “(Saturday) was appalling,” he said. “I’m still lacking a lot of confidence in the wet. But apart from that the weekend was good. The race was really positive for me after a couple of tricky races. I was quite aggressive and could hold my own. There are still some things I’m learning with the front group. You’ve got to ride defensive every corner but also try and preserve the tyre. I’m really happy to be close to the front.”
Remy Gardner – WorldSBK (P9, P12, P9)
Remy qualified in 16th place, and went on to score a 9th place in Race One, 12th in the Superpole ‘Sprint’ Race and then 9th in the second long race of the weekend. He said of his Donington exploits, “It was a positive Saturday overall. We were hoping for a slightly better qualifying, but it was incredibly close – just a few thousandths separated us from a spot on the third or even second row. In the race, I was a bit lucky to avoid the early incidents, and after that, my pace was strong. I stayed close to the front group, which is a good sign. The long race on Sunday was definitely better than the sprint. I had a good start in the Superpole Race and felt strong early on, but we struggled a bit in the second half and couldn’t challenge for the top nine. In the main race, though, I felt much better and managed to recover from 15th on the grid to ninth. The pace was solid throughout.”
Oliver Bayliss – WorldSSP (DNF, P12)
Oli was 13th on the grid and in a strong seventh place overall in Race One when he fell and was unable to get going again. In Race Two he was 12th after fading a little due to used up tyres. “Bit of an unfortunate race on Saturday. I felt really good and comfortable on the bike and then had a bit of a crash. Sorry to my team and everyone but we have a lot of positives to take. It was also a bit of a difficult race, the second one. I had a good start and first lap but I just got dropped and couldn’t catch up to the group. I struggled a little bit with grip and was just in salvage mode for the race. We’ll try again in two weeks, in Hungary.”
Harrison Voight – WorldSSP (DNS)
In his second WSSP round of the year for the EAB Ducati squad, Voight had to withdraw from the Donington Round after a technical issue on Friday and then a stomach bug so severe that he and the team called it a weekend before he raced on Saturday. The team’s official statement read, “The final decision came on Saturday, when it became clear that Voight was not fit enough to race due to ongoing stomach issues. As a result, both Voight and the EAB Racing Team were forced to end their British round early.”
Luke Power – WorldSSP (P19, DNF)
Luke took his MV Agusta to a 19th place finish in Race One, having been 24th after qualifying. He ended his weekend with a fall and no-score in Race Two. He said of his UK adventures, “Overall a promising and disappointing weekend. We showed pace through all the weekend but I struggled to put a full lap together in qualifying. There were factors outside of our control in each race. In the second race I unfortunately got caught up on the first lap in the first corner. So I am disappointed, but I think we definitely have good potential for the rest of the season.”
Tayla Relph – WorldWCR (P13, P7)
Despite arriving at Donington with two broken fingers on her right hand, Relph was ninth in Superpole. She placed 13th in Race One and then a gutsy seventh in Race Two. She said, “We came into the round with two broken fingers, after crashing at Craner Curves in a test a few weeks ago. They are not healing, with a lot of ligament damage. I got a cracking start in Race One, made up two spots and was seventh for the first seven laps. No one could pass me anywhere for the first seven laps then everyone just passed me, lap-by-lap, going into T10, which is the first hard-braking corner of the lap. We also had a tech issue with two laps to go (reduced power, after the ECU detected a fuel level below four litres). In Race Two there was a massive jump up and I raced my heart out. We did a lot of work with the Mobile Clinica yesterday evening and then again to find a really good balance (with my injured hand). Obviously, it worked a lot.”
Tara Morrison – WorldWCR (P18, P20)
In her first WorldWCR race weekend, Tara secured 19th place after Superpole, and then raced to 18th position in the first 12-lap race. In the Sunday contest she was 20th. She stated, “We had some good fun at Donington for our first WorldWCR wildcard! With the limited experience and being one of the youngest on the grid, we were happy with the progression we made over the weekend. Going 2.4 seconds faster in four sessions proves that this experience was worth it! When we come back to the WorldWCR paddock we’ll have the added confidence and we now know where we can be.”
