The metaphorical throttle did not close for MotoGP™ teams and riders after the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. The championship packed the freight cases and shipped to Thailand for the first time since 2019 where the 4.6km course of 12 corners, a mammoth 1km long straight and for 22-laps of Moto3™ madness lay in store. The Chang International Circuit is the newest venue on the MotoGP™ slate and first entertained a GP back in 2018.
The site was teeming with fans across the weekend, despite some unpredictable weather, high temperatures and humidity and – initially – some unforgiving showers. The Buriram complex was another fresh stage for the CFMOTO brand as the company – and their highly-rated CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP team – continue their path of Moto3™ class discovery in 2022.
Racers #43 Xavier Artigas and #99 Carlos Tatay placed mid-pack during the first Free Practice sessions on Friday as the Thai showers created more wet conditions for the Moto3™ racers on their light, fast and lithe bikes capable of well over 150mph and impressive lean angles.
In qualifying, the landing in top times was designed for driving in the slipstream. Unfortunately, both drivers missed the ideal position and slowed down in the turmoil of the field. Carlos Tatay and Xavier Artigas failed to reach Q2 and took positions on the 8th row of the grid.
After a heated start phase of the race on Sunday, where Tatay narrowly avoided a crash, the CFMOTO pilots each fought their way up 10 positions and ended up at the top of the chasing group in 13th and 14th place. The crash chaos on the first lap immediately opened up a gap to the leading group, which made it difficult to achieve positions in the top 10 during the session of the race.
After round seventeen and into the final month of a long championship, CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP are the seventh best team from the fifteen in Moto3™. Carlos Tatay is the highest ranked rider in the standings with 80 points and 12th place. Xavi Artigas is 15th and with hopes of closing the 4-point deficit to his teammate with a maximum of 75 left to win.
The Animoca Brands Australian Grand Prix will take place at the sweeping and immensely popular Phillip Island circuit on October 17-18.
#99 Carlos Tatay I P13
“I knew we’d suffer a bit at this track with the long straight but I pushed 100%. It was a pity to have that incident in the last corner of the first lap because it split the pack and I tried to catch back as hard as I could. The position is not what we wanted but the race went quite well and we’ll take the positives from it. I was overtaking and making progress all race, so, good information and we’ll take it to Phillip Island.”
#43 Xavier Artigas I P14
“Quite a complicated race. We were able to regain positions at the start but then a crash separated the group quite a bit. I was able to be right at the front of that section from the first moments of the race until the end. I was just beaten to another position in the final corner, which was a shame. We were ready to be further forward this weekend but we’ll keep trying and aim for better in Australia.”
Results Moto3™ OR Thailand Grand Prix
1. Dennis Foggia (ITA), Honda 37:52.331
2. Ayumu Sasaki, (JPN), Husqvarna +1.524
3. Riccardo Rossi (ITA), Honda +2.804
4. Stefano Nepa (ITA), KTM +9.414
5. Izan Guevara (ESP), GASGAS +9.527
13. Carlos Tatay (ESP, CFMOTO +23.763
14. Xavier Artigas (ESP), CFMOTO +23.842
Pictures by © [2022] RLekl
