Baltus finishes twelfth in challenging Moto2 race in Assen, Van den Goorbergh struggles to P20
In the Moto2 race at the TT Circuit Assen on Sunday afternoon, Barry Baltus finished twelfth. Despite tyre problems, the Belgian rode a strong race and scored points for Fieten Olie Racing GP. Zonta van den Goorbergh started the race well but later suffered physical problems, he eventually finished 20th.
After a difficult start to the weekend at the TT Circuit Assen, the Moto2 race was on the programme for Fieten Olie Racing GP on Sunday afternoon. With plenty of sunshine and an outside temperature of over 30°C, conditions were challenging for the riders.
Barry Baltus rode a strong opening phase and was in 11th position halfway through the race. However, he faced a tyre problem which meant the pace had to be dropped a little in the closing stages of the race. In the end, Baltus crossed the finish line in twelfth position and scored four points for his team. With a total of 24, the Belgian rider is currently fifteenth in the world championship.
After his heavy crash on Friday and a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, the 22-lap race was going to be a tough challenge for Zonta van den Goorbergh anyway. In the early stages the Dutchman got to the front but as the race progressed, the pace dropped. In the end, Van den Goorbergh crossed the finish line in 20th place at his home race.
Barry Baltus – P12: “The race went quite well today. The first lap was quite good but then I had a problem with the rear tyre, that was a bit disappointing. I think we could have finished inside the top ten but with this problem I finished 12th. It’s good to go into the summer break with this solid result and it was nice to push hard. I want to thank the team for their hard work, it has been an amazing Grand Prix weekend in Assen.”
Zonta van den Goorbergh – P20: “I didn’t have a good race today. Despite having given everything, it was one of my worst races. I don’t know if Friday’s crash had anything to do with that but after a few laps my muscles felt very tight. Because of that it was a big disappointment here in my home race, I’m really sorry it went the way it did today. We have to learn from this and not get stuck in the negative, I know I gave everything. We now go into a long summer break but will continue to train hard to go into the second half of the season as strong as possible.”
Jarno Janssen – Fieten Olie Racing GP team manager: “Both riders gave their best today. Given the course of the weekend, it was going to be a difficult task for Zonta but he held his own. Unfortunately there was nothing more in it but we know his time is yet to come. That we didn’t achieve the goal of points in Assen now is unfortunate but we have to move on.
Barry rode a very strong race, unfortunately he faced rear tyre problems. It was a strange situation and as a result he had to give up a few positions in the last laps after riding in eleventh place before that. Twelfth place is a nice result and a good ending to this special weekend in Assen.”
After a busy early phase of the season with two tests and eight Grand Prix weekends, the last three of which were back-to-back, the riders and the team now have a five-week summer break. The next Grand Prix will be held at Silverstone in Great Britain on the weekend of 6-8 August.