Xavier Simeon - Photo Credit: Tech 3
Xavier Simeon admitted to feeling slightly disappointed despite scoring his best finish of the season at Valencia. The Belgian started from eighth on the grid and ran with the leading group for much of the race but slipped back down the order when rain fell towards the end.
The Tech 3 rider ended up back where he started in eighth place but admitted he was desperate to avoid a crash and the loss of important points.
“I am happy and disappointed at the same time. I am of course happy that I met my target and finished this race in the Top 10, but on the other side I know I could have finished higher than that today. When it started raining stronger towards the end of the race I did not want to risk crashing and I was very tense on the bike. I did not want to be too aggressive, but maybe a little bit more aggressive would have been good. Today I had the pace and the feeling for a podium finish. I want to thank my team for all their effort and support throughout the 2011 season and I am looking forward to continue where we finished this year. Tomorrow I will test the new bike and I am quite excited for that.”
Team Manager Herve Poncharal understood Simeon's cautious approach in the latter stages and is confident he will be challenging for these kind of results regularly next season.
“I am happy for Xavier. He likes these conditions and he was fighting in the top group for most of the race. Unfortunately at the end he lost a little bit, as he did not want to risk crashing and was a bit tense on the bike. The group was able to catch him, which they would never have been able if he continued to ride like he did in the beginning of the race. It is a little bit disappointing after seeing him fighting so strong as he could have been on the podium today. Xavier will be with Tech3 next year and it should be much easier for him as now he knows all the circuits and he can fully concentrate on his season. I am quite sure next year he will be a regular Top 10 finisher like he showed us today.”
