Toprak Razgatlioglu – “First I would like to say thanks to my team because they did an incredible job the whole weekend. We could improve the bike every session, especially for race two it was really good. I still had a small issue in corner four but anyway, I could manage it in the race. I had a strong pace and was pushing so hard because even though Bulega started from tenth position, I knew he will be fast and will catch up. So I had to push straight from the start. All in all I’m really happy – we did three wins as last year. Now I’m looking forward to the next races. The wins here made me even more motivated and I can’t wait to go to Donington now.”
Nicolò Bulega – ‘I gave it my all in Race 2. Toprak seemed to have better pace, but it’s impossible to speculate on what I could have done if I had started alongside him. Bassani hit me at the first corner of the Superpole Race with a manoeuvre that I find difficult to understand. I think more attention needs to be paid to this. I lost some crucial points, but the season is still long.’
Alvaro Bautista – “I’m happy with this result. It was a challenging weekend during which I never found the best feeling. The very high temperature prevented me from riding as I would have liked. We’ll see what happens at Donington.”
Andrea Locatelli – “Finally, we reached a good point and good positions, we found the way to be fast and a good feeling here in Misano! Yesterday we made a good race, but today I think we made a positive step and did a really, really good job so we were able to finish on the podium in the Superpole Race – then a P4 in Race 2. I have a feeling inside like I lost the opportunity to get a second podium in Race 2, but the reality is that I pushed hard and did my absolute best and this was the maximum result that we were able to get at the moment. Top five is not bad and we got a lot of points for the championship, because in the last couple of rounds we missed a lot. I want to continue like this with strong results and focus on the next one. I hope until the end of the season we can have some really good weekends, get some podiums and let’s try to push for another victory.”
Danilo Petrucci – “Compared to yesterday, today the others were able to go faster. I rode a race all on the defense because I knew Nicolò would arrive, but I still tried to attack Locatelli several times, without success. In the last five laps I suffered a lot from the heat, sweat was dripping into my eyes and I could hardly see anything. But I held on. This weekend I finished third, fourth and fifth and I managed to gain a few points on the pursuers.”
Iker Lecuona – “I’m really happy, honestly. During morning warm-up we made some changes to the setup to help me feel more comfortable. Yesterday, we spent a lot of time talking in the box and realised we were missing something to be able to fight at the front, so we worked to find a solution. I just had a small issue in the Superpole Race with one aspect of the electronics setup, and I was also one of few riders to not use the qualifying rear tyre. That made the start really tough, but even so, I stayed with the group and wasn’t far off. That showed us that if we were able to improve that area of the electronics, we could definitely be in the fight in Race 2 – and we did it! My start was really good – I reacted super well and thought, ‘Wow, that was amazing!’ Once the race got going, I stayed calm, spent a few laps behind some riders, and then started closing the gap and making passes. Over the final five laps I felt really strong. I was with Lowes and Petrucci, and managed to pass Sam at Turn 14 on the penultimate lap. On the last lap I focused on defending my position from Sam and tried to overtake Danilo as well. I got really close, and with one more lap I think I could have made the move, but there just wasn’t enough time. In the end, I’m just really happy. A big thank you to the whole team for their support and for the great work on the electronics today. We’re back in the fight, and I’m really enjoying myself – and that’s the most important thing. Next week I’ll take part in the official test for the Suzuka 8 Hours. I’m really looking forward to it, so thanks to Honda for the opportunity.”
Sam Lowes – “We had really tough conditions here at Misano on Sunday. It was very, very hot, even in the Superpole race. We chose the tyre for the longer race in the Superpole race. I was coming faster at the end but couldn’t recover all the time we lost at the start. But I still think it was a good choice because it set us up for the afternoon. In the main race we went for the harder front tyre option. I’m not saying it was the wrong choice as it had some good and bad points. But I just missed a bit of performance and then it dropped a bit at the end. We probably expected a little bit more than P7. But it’s not been the easiest of weekends. We had a few issues and missed some track time. And I know I need to work on my riding and smooth it out a bit in this heat. But I want to say a big thank you to the team. This weekend could’ve been a lot worse yet we managed to finish all three races with some solid performances. Now I’m already looking forward to racing at home at Donington in a month’s time!”
Garrett Gerloff – “Today ended up not so bad. I was a bit frustrated after the Superpole Race because I was in eighth place, then I was just trying my best to stay in the top nine, to try to make sure that I could have a better starting position for Race Two. I didn’t get one, so I was definitely frustrated. We had not the best start in Race Two but we had pretty good pace and I felt better and better the more laps I did, and the more the fuel load started to go down. I finished inside the top ten and it was nice to have a single digit next to my name. We made some progress and I hope we make more in the next race, and keep improving, I hope.”
Xavi Vierge – “We need to be happy with the weekend overall, but especially with Sunday, where I feel we took a step forward. The team worked really hard, and we made a small step already in warm-up. Then, from warm-up to the Superpole Race, we adjusted a few more things, including the tyre choice, which I think was the right one for me. I had a really strong Superpole Race – over ten laps I was able to give everything. It’s a pity because midway through the race I was in a good position, but due to a mistake by another rider, I made contact and lost several positions. I tried to recover, but it wasn’t quite enough to get into the top nine. In the final laps I caught up to Iker, but since he’s my teammate and we were only fighting for one point, I couldn’t push too hard, especially considering my physical condition, where I still can’t fully control my body. Anyway, overall still a good race. In Race 2, we knew it would be tough. I made another strong start and was in a good position, but after six laps my body was completely done, and from that point I was just trying to survive. I battled as part of a big group, and in the end, I was able to bring it home in ninth place. I’m really happy with that because the original plan was to skip this race, and in the end we scored quite a few points. So, I’m very thankful to everyone who helped me to be here this weekend, and of course to the team for all their hard work to give me the best possible bike. Now I’ll focus on recovering over the next weeks to try and be as fit as possible for Donington.”
Michael van der Mark – “We’ve honestly struggled a lot this weekend. We’ve tried so many things with the bike, but it just never got any faster and I never got a good feeling, plus a couple of stupid crashes. Honestly, it was a big mess all in all. But of course, we’ve all tried as hard as we could, we never gave up but it was very difficult. Even race two, the feeling wasn’t there, but at least we’ve scored some good points. I’m not really happy with my weekend but I am really happy for everyone in the team who work non-stop. I’m looking forward to Donington now, we will be ready again.”
Yari Montella – “This morning we started with a good warm-up. Unfortunately, in Superpole I found myself in the group with the others at the first chicane and I lost several positions. I was fighting for ninth place, but I slipped at the last corner, thus also compromising the start of Race 2, where we started from thirteenth on the grid. I was recovering well, I was close to the top ten, but unfortunately there was contact with another rider. I’m sorry to have thrown away a Sunday when we could have achieved much more. We’ll be ready for Donington.”
Jonathan Rea – “The Superpole Race firstly enabled me to start on the third row for the long race. I got some good track position at the start, obviously when there was the carnage with Bulega and Bassani, everything just opened up for me and I found myself sixth or seventh and my race sort of stayed there! Sam Lowes was coming strong at the end and I couldn’t just quite fight with him. My bike was feeling quite good in the cooler conditions, we used the SCQ tyre and it lasted all the race. The feeling going into the long race was a positive one, my starts on the Yamaha R1 have been incredible recently, so I put myself facing down the left-hand side of the track thinking I could run around that group in front. But, I got squeezed wide in T1 and bottle-necked in T2, so any track positions I gained from the start I lost and from that point I was in a group – then lost touch as Lecuona was just riding away from me a little bit, but I was clear from the guys behind. I lost the front in Turn 1 at the apex, it was a strange crash and frustrating because the trajectory of the weekend had been really positive from missing FP1 to finishing seventh in the Superpole Race and it’s unfortunate to end on a tough note.”
Remy Gardner – “Unfortunately the feeling was not too great, but we were still able to battle in the sprint race, trying our best to secure a good result and a decent starting grid position for Race 2. At the end we managed to finish eighth, which wasn’t great, but not too bad either. We then tried to improve the performance in the afternoon, but the feeling was not amazing overall to be honest. It was enough to try to fight with those around, but unfortunately I was hit by another rider and I couldn’t do anything and the race was over. Not the way I wanted to finish the weekend, but that’s racing. Let’s try to move on and stay positive for the next rounds.”
Axel Bassani – “I felt like I braked hard, but at the normal point, into the first corner of the Superpole Race. I tried to find my position on the inside but I was not able to slow down the same way that Bulega did. I tried everything to stop and to not go into him but I lost the front and we crashed. Nothing more to say only sorry. I served my penalty in Race Two. I think even without the crash, it was quite difficult for me to think about a podium today, and Bautista was also quite fast. I could maybe have stayed inside the top five. Until the first race on Sunday, this weekend has been quite good and we were fast.”
Alex Lowes – “I was really happy about the first race today. Track position is so important. I got in a good position behind Toprak Razgatlioglu and I had two or three really strong early laps. The last three laps were a long three laps! I am really happy for the team to get a podium. Everyone is working hard at the track, away from the track, so to take a podium finish is a good indication of our progress. Obviously, having the test here before the race weekend really helped with the bike set-up. I don’t feel as negative about the final race as the result was. I felt quite good in the final part of the race so I thought I could pass Danilo. The crash was a case of trying to go faster when I was already fast. The bike was damaged but I jumped back on and I was still able to do 1’34 laps at the end. The positive thing is that we were, even in these more extreme temperatures, still fast on the bike. This is the first proper hot race we have had. Overall, I am happy with the weekend. I think we did a good job and we can take a lot of information and positives into the next round.”
