After a difficult weekend, Orelac Racing VerdNatura riders Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Nacho Calero safely brought both bikes home, with Fahmi taking 14th place and two points. Neither Fahmi, nor Nacho were overly happy with their finishing positions today, but the team were happy that their bikes did not suffer the same the issues of the past two days.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin – 14th
“I made a good start to the race, but after a couple of laps I began to have a problem with Rea. His bike was smoking and I could see that some oil was coming out and I had to be careful as passing was not easy. The black flag was put out for him and once he saw it he pulled out. I then caught the group ahead and we had a battle for the rest of the race. I knew I was faster than them, but every time I got past them, they hauled me in because I just didn’t have the acceleration to get away from them. I am happy because I finished the race, but I am not so happy with the result, because I know it could’ve been so much better.”
Nacho Calero – 18th
“My start was OK and I moved up three places by the end of the first lap. After that I kept plugging away and did my best to gain as many places as I could. I really wanted to get into the points today but my bike didn’t have the acceleration to keep other riders behind when I needed it. It’s been a bit frustrating this weekend and I am not happy that I finished out of the points. Hopefully the next race, in Assen, will be better.”
Giulio Bardi (Team Manager)
“It was not an easy weekend for us, but, with all the issues we had, I am happy that both bikes finished the races and came without the issues we’d had recently. Of course, I would’ve been happier if we had managed to score some points today, but that’s racing. Our goal this morning was to finish the races and we achieved that. Now we’ll go back to the workshop, analyse all the data, regroup and work out what we have to do to be stronger next time out.”
