Gonzalez Picks Up Eighth Place in Mugello Moto2 Race

11-06-2023

Gonzalez Picks Up Eighth Place in Mugello Moto2 Race

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez was on a mission to collect solid points today. He was in the battle for fifth early on in the race but ultimately had to settle for eighth position. Kasma Daniel continued his learning process, adapting to the 2023 Moto2 bike. He gained valuable experience and finished in 22nd place.

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp‘s Manuel Gonzalez gave his all in today's demanding Gran Premio d‘Italia Moto2 race. He rode from P11 on the grid to a hard-fought eighth place. Kasma Daniel concentrated on his riding style around the technically challenging Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. He ended today‘s contest in 22nd place.

Gonzalez had a good start and chose a strategic line through the first corners to emerge in seventh place as the group crossed the start-finish straight for the first time. He was in the group battling for fifth. With eight laps to go, Jake Dixon had broken away and pressure was mounting from charging riders who joined the group. The Spanish talent did manage to overtake Sergio Garcia, but he lost positions to Alonso Lopez and Celestino Vietti. Unable to stick with them, he ended in eighth place.

Daniel started the Italian GP without pressure: his only targets were to gain as much experience as possible on the 2023 Moto2 bike and bring it across the finish line. While the 19-lap race soon became a lonely ride for the Malaysian, he kept his focus and took the chequered flag in 22nd place.

Today‘s results mean Gonzalez now has 34 points and is climbing up to 10th place in the championship standings. Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 stays in 9th in the team championship, also with 34 points.

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp will be back in action next week, when they start Round 7, the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, held at the Sachsenring.

Manuel Gonzalez

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp

"I expected more from today. I was riding well in the first three laps, but I lost time trying to overtake Roberts. Then I started to have problems with the front of the bike, and I was not able to push as I wanted. I tried to finish the race in the best position possible, but I think we missed something in the setting. We will learn from this, and we will improve for the next one."

Kasma Daniel

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp

"I‘d like to thank Yamaha and the team again for the opportunity they gave me to race in Mugello. I like the track a lot, even if I couldn‘t gain the confidence I wanted with the bike. I tried to manage the race, to finish it, even if I was struggling with my right arm. Despite this, I stayed focused, and I‘ve been able to achieve my objective. I‘ll be with the team also next week at the Sachsenring, a new track again for me. I will work a lot with my crew chief to gain more confidence with the bike from the first sessions."

Gelete Nieto

Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, Sports Director

"Good start for Manu today, his first three laps were also quite good. We all thought that today we could fight for a fifth or sixth position, but already on the fourth lap of the race the feeling with the front tyre was not good, since in many of the corners Manu couldn‘t turn the bike the way he wanted. Finishing in eighth position is not bad at all, but both he and the rest of the team want more.

"Finishing the race is very important for Kasma to keep improving. Yesterday we decided to make some changes to the settings on the bike to see if it would improve the bike‘s handling, but when he got to the box, Kasma told us that it was difficult to ride the bike."