Tito Rabat apologised to his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS team after starting his Moto2 world title defence by crashing out of the Qatar Grand Prix. The Spaniard fell to eighth on an eventful opening lap before tripping over Simone Corsi on his way back through the field and the reigning champion is already turning his attentions to round two in Texas.
“Not the start to the season we were looking for, especially as we’d done a good job all weekend and worked hard to get onto the front row of the grid. My start was good, but then the bike hit neutral as I downshifted for turn one forcing me wide and I lost even more places in turn four on the same lap. After that I got my head down and tried to increase my pace, but when I passed Corsi up the inside he cut across my line and took out my front wheel. It was impossible to avoid a crash and that was the end of my race. Sorry to the team, to my mechanics, but now we must keep working ready for Texas.”
Moto2 debutant Alex Marquez salvaged five points for Marc VDS in eleventh although he admitted a crash in afternoon warm-up knocked his confidence ahead of the race.
“To finish the race and to gain experience for the next races was positive, but we had some problems in the first four laps because my mind wasn’t so clear after the crash in warm up. However, I finished the race, picked up my first Moto2 World Championship points and I leave here with a clear idea of where we can improve both the bike and my riding style for the next race. Thanks to the team for all their hard work this weekend, now we must look forward to Texas.”
