Two red flags, once due to Filip Salac’s crash, caused trouble in Austin. Salac remained uninjured – Yamanaka finished the race day in 22nd place.
The race day went not as the CarXpert PrüstelGP team with Filip Salac and Ryusei Yamanaka had wished.
After Filip Salac was able to set a good starting position for the race with 7th place in Q2, he was also on a good pace in the warm up on Sunday morning. He started the race from the third row, but lost a few places after the start and was in 12th place after the second lap. However, the Czech struggled with unexpected grip problems on the rear wheel in the race, which was the trigger for a heavy highsider on lap 6. Salac was taken to hospital for a medical check after the crash, but so far no serious injuries have been diagnosed.
After Filip Salac’s crash, the Moto3 race was stopped and restarted a short time later.
Ryusei Yamanaka started the first race in P23. However, right after the start he had to avoid the turmoil in the middle group of the tight Moto3 riders and take a wide line. When Yamanaka found back into his rhythm after a few laps, the race was stopped due to the crash – in the second race the Japanese rider could hardly improve. He finished the race in P22.
Filip Salac #12 (DNF):
“That was definitely not the Sunday we had imagined after yesterday’s strong practice sessions. We were on a good run and despite a little mistake from myself in the warm up we were ready for the race a short time later. Then in the race I didn’t have a good feeling for the rear wheel – the grip wasn’t a 100%. I tried to push, obviously too much. On the way out the corner I had a highsider and hit the asphalt quite hard, so that I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Luckily the medical check didn’t reveal any other injuries though – I hope to fully recover soon to be ready for the next race in Misano.”
Ryusei Yamanaka #6 (P22 | 14.228):
“Right after the start I made a small mistake in all the tumult of the group – I had to take a line that was too wide so I lost a lot of places. When I managed to make up some positions, the race was stopped. In the second race I was on a good way, had a good feeling, but the race was too short to really make up places. Shortly after the start, this race was also stopped again due to a huge crash. I’m now trying to recover from this turbulent weekend and prepare for the race in Italy.”
Pictures by © [2021] RLekl
