RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP shows character after difficult start in Le Mans

Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified twentieth on Saturday afternoon for the French Grand Prix at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans. The Dutch rider competed with an injury and ultimately missed out on a spot in Q2 by less than a tenth of a second. His teammate Ayumu Sasaki will start from 23rd on the grid after a difficult Q1 session at the French circuit.

RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP faced adversity right from the first session on Friday morning, when Zonta van den Goorbergh was involved in an incident. The Dutchman was hit at high speed by another rider and thrown off his bike, resulting in a small fracture in his foot. He was later declared fit to ride again and returned to action that same day, but the injury contributed to him not securing a direct place in Q2. Ayumu Sasaki also failed to qualify directly for Q2 on Friday.

As a result, both riders had to participate in Q1 on Saturday afternoon. Van den Goorbergh started strong and for a long time seemed on course for a Q2 spot, but he dropped to sixth place at the last moment. This puts the Dutchman in 20th position on the grid—something that can be seen as a minor miracle given the heavy impact on Friday morning.

Sasaki crashed early in Q1 but was able to return to the track later in the session. However, the Japanese rider fell short of setting a top-four lap time and will start from 23rd on the grid.

Zonta van den Goorbergh (P20 – 1’35.284 / +0,903):
“I’m still experiencing discomfort from what happened yesterday, but even so, I could have been in a better position than P20. The morning session went reasonably well and I was able to push a bit, which resulted in finishing twelfth. Towards the end of the session I did feel I was losing some strength, but the feeling with the bike was good.

Because of that, I was hopeful I could make it into Q2. The feeling in Q1 wasn’t bad and the first run was quite good. However, I couldn’t improve in the second run, and physically it became really tough to push again. Unfortunately that meant we didn’t make it into Q2, which is a real shame. In the end, this is what we have to work with and we’ll try to make the most of it, even though it certainly won’t be easy. The team is working hard to fine-tune the bike even more for tomorrow. I’m confident we can still put in a strong race.”

Ayumu Sasaki (P23 – 1’35.490 / +1,175):
“It was a difficult qualifying session with a crash in the first lap. I want to apologise to the team for the mistake as I was pushing hard. However, mistakes can happen when you’re pushing. I’m disappointed about the crash but we managed to go out again and make two good lap times. I wasn’t comfortable enough to push hard again and in the end we missed Q2 by two tenths. The gap is small but we need to work on it because it feels big. Tomorrow we will try again and I think we have a good pace, similar to those near the points. We will do everything to try and catch them, and have a good race.”

Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager:
“The second day here in Le Mans didn’t quite go as expected. We were fairly strong in the morning session, so we were hopeful that we could make it through to Q2. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, as in the final lap two riders managed to go quicker than Zonta’s time, meaning we didn’t finish in the top four. As a result, Zonta will have to start from twentieth tomorrow, which will certainly not be an easy task. In any case, we’re motivated and ready to fight tomorrow. I think the way the weekend has unfolded – especially with the crash on Friday morning – has played a role, and that definitely doesn’t help in this class. Hopefully, we can gain a few positions in the opening lap so we can get into points contention – that’s the goal.

Unfortunately, Ayumu crashed early in qualifying, but fortunately he was able to return to the pit box. In the end, he still managed to set a reasonably good lap time, but from 23^rd place it’s more or less the same story. It will be a tough challenge to move forward, but we have confidence and I think the boys know what they need to do tomorrow.”

The Moto2 race over 22 laps at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans will start at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.