Login | Password dimenticata? | Registrati

Nieto gives all in 125 cc GP in front of home crowd at Jerez

In MotoGP

31 marzo 2008

Onde 2000 KTM rider Pablo Nieto gave it all in front of his home crowd to secure an impressive fifth position in the 125 cc class at the Jerez Grand Prix on Sunday to be the best finisher onboard a KTM machine

Hard work
"We've worked very hard to establish a good base set-up for my bike in these first two races, and we've learned and achieved a lot," Nieto said. " Thanks to the KTM's good handling, I gained in the corners and I was able to pass some of my opponents. At some stage, I seemed to even have a podium finish within reach. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite match the speed of the others on the straights. I gave it all in the corners but in the end it wasn't enough for the podium." Nieto confirmed he is happy with the team's progress. "I have full confidence in KTM and their development speed in order to give us what we need, and to be able to respond very quickly," he said.

Valuable points
Nieto's teammate Raffaele de Rosa, Repsol KTM 125cc rider Esteve Rabat and ISPA KTM Aran's Tomoyoshi Koyama also took valuable points in twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth position on the Spanish circuit which draws a huge crowd of the sport's enthusiasts. "We made a change to the suspension set-up this morning and we thought it was the right move, but with the unexpected change in air and track temperature, it turned out that we'd gone the wrong way," de Rosa said. "I was sliding a lot with the rear, and couldn't do any more!"

Krummenacher and Marquez absent from the grid
Absent from the KTM lineup for Sunday's race was Red bull KTM 125 racer Randy Krummenacher who underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen on Friday and young Marc Marquez of Repsol KTM 125cc who is recovering from a broke wrist from a spill in pre-season tests.

Results 125 cc Race
1. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia
2. Nicolas Terol, Spain, Aprilia
3. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia
4. Stefan Bradl. Germany, Aprilia
5. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM
11. Raffael De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM
12. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Respol KTM 125cc
13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran
Not classified Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KRM Aran