Second Row Start for Zarco in Indianapolis

2014-08-11 06:24
After a tough start to their Indianapolis Grand Prix the AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing riders picked up the pace with an impressive Qualifying performance.

Working hard to adjust his riding style to suit the American Circuit, Johann Zarco headed out strong from the start. Looking more relaxed and comfortable on the #5 Caterham Suter the Frenchman began to consistently chip away at his time, launching himself into the top five and qualifying on row two for tomorrow’s race.

Determined to improve his position from Free Practice, teammate Josh Herrin just missed out on qualifying within the top twenty. Pushing hard the Moto2 rookie continued to show his pace throughout the session, but an unfortunate crash in the final minutes hampered his chance of bettering his time.


#5 Johann Zarco: “I’m really happy about the qualifying because in the practice sessions it was a difficult situation as I was so far behind.

“After FP3 we made just a few little modifications to the bike and then in Qualifying I pushed also.
I wanted to stay out and get into a rhythm with a consistent pace because on this track the line is very important. My feeling on the bike was a lot better and I felt comfortable to play with both tyres. I was also able to get into the slip stream which helps for the lap time. Throughout the session I was able to better my pace and I could even try to push to be faster again.

“I am happy and this is very important for tomorrow. It’s good to get this confidence and to stay in this lap time, but it’s not easy.
I hope tomorrow the conditions are the same and to have the same feeling on the bike and in the mind. The race I think will be hard but I hope to stay with the top group as long as possible. After losing so many points in Sachsenring I must finish and take these points back with a good result.”

#2 Josh Herrin: “Today has been good. In both sessions I made it into the top twenty and up to fourteenth at one point, but I missed the shift on the back straight which cost us three tenths. If I hadn’t made this mistake the three tenths would have put us around twelfth or thirteenth place overall.
Obviously I wish I could have finished there but I’m happy with the time that I can do now. I felt really relaxed and it’s the first time this year I haven’t been stressed when pushing for the time.
It’s the best position we’ve had so far which is great and hopefully tomorrow I can improve again and get into the 1m37s before the race, just to get a bit more confidence.”

Team Manager - Johan Stigefelt: “It’s really been a weekend of ups and downs. We’ve struggled since FP1 right up until Qualifying.

“At the start it was difficult to determine exactly what the problem was with Johann as it looked to be a combination of both him and the bike. We’ve been working on it and Johann also made a big step himself in the way that he changed his riding style to adapt to this track, which is very different to many of the others. He made an exceptional effort to do this and right when it was needed most.
We also made a step with the bike right before FP3 which turned out to be in the right direction. Johann’s pace was good and consistent with quite a lot of laps in the mid 1m37s.
It looks pretty good for tomorrow but we’ve seen it many times before and we need to be strong for the race and learn from previous mistakes. We will not change a lot with the bike, so now it is up to Johann to do the best he can tomorrow.

“Josh did well and the Qualifying session was really interesting because he made a big improvement in his lap time and was not far off. We could see he was following and learning from some of the other riders in a good way. He was just missing maybe one or two tenths to make it into the top twenty. It’s a shame but still I believe he can do a good race. Twenty third is his best qualifying position this year and I hope that he can capitalise from that, try to stay in a good group and do his best. I think he can fight for the points if he can stay calm and ride well.”

Source: Caterham Moto Racing Team

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