Pramac Racing rider Randy de Puniet finishes tenth as Damian Cudlin falls at Motegi – MotoGP news
Pramac Racing rider Randy de Puniet scored a tenth position while his new teammate Damian Cudlin lost the ground from 12th place in the Grand Prix of Japan held on Sunday, October 2, 2011.
The Frenchman was able to start the race from 13th position on the grid and raced well to finish in top-ten.
The new teammate for de Puniet was Damian Cudlin because Loris Capirossi was not fit to race at Motegi. The Italian rider had crashed at Motorland Aragon and dislocated his shoulder.
Randy de Puniet said, “I'm not very happy, today we had the potential to enter the top eight. I was behind Aoyama, Elias and other riders, but when I saw the ride through sign I thought I would be there too.”
The Frenchman said that when he saw the ‘ride through’ penalty sign he was expected to be included in the count. To keep an eye on the signboard, he slowed down on the front straight which left him far behind from the riders pack he was chasing.
He said that he used brakes to slow him down and overshot the next turn that created an instant gap ahead of him. Two riders from the top squad Andrea Dovizioso and one from the mid pack Cal Crutchlow were penalised by a ride through penalty. Somehow, it
helped de Puniet improve places in the race.
De Puniet pushed hard to cover the gap but he lost the rhythm to push hard. He added that the bike performed well at Motorland Aragon but while avoiding a crashed rider, he went off the course. Now he aims to do a good job at Phillip Island, Australia.
Damian Cudlin said, “I made a good start, I felt good and thought I could overtake both Colin and Randy on the first lap but I didn’t want to create accidents, that wouldn’t be too smart as a rookie. As time went on I got to better terms with the bike and
managed to reach and keep up with Akiyoshi.”
The Aussie rookie in the premier class quickly learnt a MotoGP bike and a new circuit. Although he could not complete the race but his race weekend was promising.
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