Despite achieving their best result of the year at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Shaun Muir has said that it has been a tough weekend for the whole team. Brookes finished 7th in race two, whilst Abraham only finished race two in 15th place. We caught up with Josh Brookes, Karel Abraham and Shaun Muir, after their weekend.
Josh Brookes: We can get some more strong results
“It’s great to be back racing after the summer break, and I’ve been feeling good on the bike in the mixed conditions this weekend. Practice and qualifying weren’t too bad while the track was wet/dry, but then it dried in Superpole 1 and I struggled to make up quick lap times.
In Race 1 I just focused on doing the best I could, and the lap times were pretty consistent. I was catching Ramos towards the end which gave me extra motivation to push, but I couldn’t quite pass him. Race 2 was a big improvement, and we made progress in the morning warm-up. We wanted to try a few things with the swingarm, gearing and wheelbase, and they really worked. The bike was a lot more nimble and didn’t lose grip, and as a result we had a much better race.
We had glimpses of things to come on Sunday, and it was great to be in a proper battle again. I’m looking forward to racing at Magny-Cours, and I think if we can keep the bike in the performance margin we found this weekend then we can get some more strong results for sure.”
Karel Abraham: It was disappointing overall
“I was really looking forward to racing a World Superbike again after the summer break. Saturday didn’t go to plan as we had some technical issues in FP3, and in Superpole we could only do 2 laps and in difficult changing conditions.
In Race 1 I had an issue on the sighting lap with the electronics so I boxed to see if the guys could fix it, but unfortunately when I got to the grid the problem was still there and I had to stop the bike. We expected a dry track for Race 2 but then the rain started, and we had to adjust quickly for the changing conditions. I had a few issues with the rear tyre locking and grip, but I was still able to do consistent laps. It was good to get another point for the championship, but it was still a disappointing race overall.
I haven’t been to Magny-Cours for quite a few years, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully we can learn from the running that we did this weekend and use it to make some progress for the next round.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal: We was on the back foot from the off
“We started this weekend on the back foot due to our lack of testing. Josh and Karel had prior commitments that couldn’t be changed, and unfortunately without testing we are behind the guys we are chasing. Josh had an electronics malfunction which caused a high-speed crash for him in Practice, but the guys worked through the night to put the bike back together. On Saturday however we were greeted with wet weather, which made Superpole difficult for both riders. It was a real gamble of which tyres to choose, and with a few more laps they would both have qualified higher.
Race 1 was tough for both riders. Josh managed to work his way into the points in 14th and did the best he could with the time he’d had with the bike, but Karel had an electrical failure on the bike which meant he could only do 2 laps.
Race 2 was made difficult by the sudden downpour before the start, but it was an improvement for them both. Josh did well to secure 7th place and score more points, and he benefited from some useful development work in morning warm-up. Karel was able to cure the electronic problems from Saturday, lapping consistently as the track changed. He was also able to score a point in 15th, so overall it was good to secure both bikes in the points.”
Thanks to the Milwaukee BMW Team for the image, via Gold and Goose Photography
Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko