The result of Bo Bendsneyder and Tommy Marcon in the Valencia Grand Prix was not what NTS RW Racing GP had hoped for to end the season with. The Dutchman finished 24th, the Italian finished in 27th place. The shortened Moto2 race, however, provided a lot of valuable information with which NTS and the team can continue in preparation for the 2020 season, which starts on Wednesday with a test in Jerez. Based on the practices and the qualification, Bendsneyder and the team had high hopes for points. However, that was not possible. The start of Bendsneyder was not bad, but certainly not good enough to fight towards the top 15. Only in the final phase could the Dutchman pass Ekky Pratama and only then did he ride his fastest lap times. Tommy Marcon reached the finish of a Grand Prix for the first time. He also had a reasonable start, but the Italian lost positions in the second lap when he went too wide. He was able to make up for that loss along the way, so that he eventually crossed the line in 27th place. The Moto2 race was shortened to sixteen laps and started half an hour later than planned due to an oil trail and a massive crash in the Moto3. In the Moto2 only two falls occurred.
“Also in this race it did not come true what we had hoped for,” said NTS RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen. “We have had an eventful year. We expected more based on the omens. We were unable to make the step that was necessary. There are various reasons for this. One of the factors that played a role is that Bo Bendsneyder was largely alone. Because of the injury that Steven Odendaal had sustained, he missed the start of the season and he could not catch up. We were lucky with Jesko Raffin, who did a lot of work, but after three races that was over and we had to start all over again. The introduction of a new, wider rear tire also did not work to our advantage. The development then suffers a setback and Bendsneyder couldn’t get any further either. That is a very unfortunate series of circumstances in only the second year of this machine. However, we have learned a lot and with that information we are working hard in Japan to start the new season with an improved machine.”
The 2020 season starts this week for NTS RW Racing GP with a two-day test in Jerez. There, Bo Bendsneyder and Jesko Raffin come into action – at least if the weather permits – with new chassis.
Bo Bendsneyder (24 at +25,732): “The problem in the race was that I couldn’t ride the lines and lap times that I could ride in the practice sessions. I couldn’t do the same in a group as I can when I ride alone. Only when I had a free track in front of me could I ride the way you have to ride this bike. After a good first half of the season we were stopped a bit, where others were able to make a step. We are now on the right track and we have been able to show that, but not often enough.”
Race results:
Pos | Rider | Team | Time / Gap |
1 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 25’30.766 |
2 | Thomas LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 0.735 |
3 | Jorge NAVARRO | MB Conveyors Speed Up | 1.045 |
4 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 1.185 |
5 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 8.066 |
6 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 8.311 |
7 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 9.922 |
8 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 11.085 |
9 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | MB Conveyors Speed Up | 11.739 |
10 | Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 12.362 |
11 | Mattia PASINI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 16.620 |
12 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Temporary Forward | 17.160 |
13 | Jake DIXON | Inde Angel Nieto Team | 17.595 |
14 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 17.624 |
15 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 17.835 |
16 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 18.090 |
17 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | FLEXBOX HP 40 | 18.251 |
18 | Joe ROBERTS | American Racing KTM | 18.434 |
19 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 19.829 |
20 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 20.278 |
21 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 20.298 |
22 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 20.362 |
23 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 20.280 |
24 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 25.732 |
25 | Dimas EKKY PRATAMA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 28.179 |
26 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 28.392 |
27 | Tommaso MARCON | NTS RW Racing GP | 32.617 |
28 | Xavi CARDELUS | Inde Angel Nieto Team | 37.281 |
29 | Adam NORRODIN | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 37.410 |
30 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | +1’29.344 |
Not Classified | |||
Sean Dylan KELLY | American Racing KTM | 2 Laps | |
Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 11 Laps |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com