Our lads displayed plenty of Dutch courage but grip issues and untimely incidents fouled their progress
Jack Miller (Sprint: 14th, Result: 14th)
This was supposed to be a good track for Yamaha. Instead, it turned into an ordeal. Jack’s airbag went off in the Sprint. And rear tyre temperature hamstrung the M1s on Sunday. “Was in a decent spot in the race but got stuck behind Enea. I couldn’t do much. We suffered with engine braking. Our electronics out of the last corner were pretty bad, we need to sharpen that up. If you change your line, the bike struggles to adapt. Also, this thing spins all the way through Turns 1 and 2 and then is cooking into 3. The tyre temperature is through the roof and that means the rear is backing in on entry. We need to find rear grip.”
Senna Agius (Result: 9th)
Senna had a tough launch from seventh on the grid but was puzzled by a lack of rear grip in the early laps, which caused him to drop back to 15th on lap two. With that in mind, a decent recovery. “A tough Sunday,” he said. “I had a really good start, but difficult first lap where I got pushed around a lot. We also struggled with a big lack of rear grip at the beginning. That put us in trouble much earlier than I had expected. We have to analyse exactly why my feeling has changed so much since yesterday and stay calm for the Sachsenring.”
Joel Kelso (Result: 9th)
Joel was as downbeat after this one as any other point during the season. Having qualified eighth, he was clawing his way back from 14th to launch a late attack. “Unlucky, because we were fast. We were doing it quite comfortably. We’ve got the feeling back. With two to go I was seventh, in a good position. I planned to go into the last lap to be in that podium fight.” How close was he to the Lunetta collision? “I hit Furusato’s bike and it kicked me toward the wall. Luckily, I got it turned and the grass wasn’t too slippery. It ruined our race. Just another shit weekend, but what can I do? Just hope to bounce back soon.”
Jacob Roulstone (Result: 12th)
Another case of potential unfulfilled. Jacob was well placed in the lead group after qualifying 17th. But a decision to run Pirelli’s soft front tyre didn’t pay off as he lost touch with the lead group. “I got a really good start but we made the wrong tyre choice another time. I struggled with grip after seven laps in the front. I kept going wide, missing the apexes, and the others were able to get underneath me. A big shame but it was another weekend of improvement. It’s annoying that things are getting better, yet I haven’t been showing my full potential in the race. We’re still working hard. There are a few things the team and myself are figuring out – but we’ll get there eventually.”
