The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team secured their first championship points in their debut year in only their third race, thanks to Gonzalez‘ superb salvage job. Despite being involved in a Turn-1 incident, he still rode to an encouraging 14th place. Keminth Kubo wasn‘t able to make strides but used the occasion to gain further experience. He rode a steady race and finished in 19th place.
Gonzalez started from P10 but had to make an evasive manoeuvre in Turn 1 to avoid clipping another rider crashing in front of him. He went wide, and although he re-joined the race quickly, he found himself at the back of the pack.
It wasn‘t the start the number-18 rider had hoped for, but it didn‘t dampen his fighting spirit. The eager Moto2 rookie put his head down and by the end of the first lap, he was already back up to 22nd place. He continued to carve his way through the rider field over the next 22 laps. His goal was to score his first championship points, and he skilfully rode to a 14th-place finish.
Kubo had been struggling to find a set-up that suited his riding style all weekend. The rookie made some changes to his bike in Warm Up and was curious to give this new setting a try.
Starting from P29, he moved up a couple of places as the riders settled into their positions in the always busy opening corners. However, the Thai rider wasn‘t able to defend his position.
Nevertheless, he showed consistency as he completed a race that counted many crashers without any incidents. He ended in 19th place.
Today‘s result puts Gonzalez in 18th place in the championship standings with 2 points. The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team has now appeared on the scoreboard in 12th place with 2 points.
The team will be back in action next weekend at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
