Foggia Out Of Luck At Jerez, Rookie Aji Impresses
Circuito de Jerez - Ángel NietoMoto3 World Championship contender Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) was once again out of luck at Jerez today, completing the race in 18th after starting from fourth on the grid.
The 21-year-old Italian, who won a stunning victory at round two in Indonesia and followed that with strong second-place finishes in the subsequent Argentine and US rounds, struggled in the Spanish sunshine because he didn’t feel quite right on his bike. He finally finished outside the points. Nevertheless he retains second place in the 2022 title chase.
Foggia has won seven Moto3 victories and scored a further 11 podium finishes in the last few years but incredibly has never scored a point in his six visits to Jerez since his first Grand Prix at the track in 2018.
Rookie Mario Suryo Aji (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) was the last man to overtake Foggia, taking 17th from him with three laps to go. This was another great ride for Aji, who finished less than a second away from achieving his second World Championship points score.
The 18-year-old Indonesian started from 24th on the grid after a difficult qualifying session yesterday and never stopped moving forward. He was in superb form, moving into the top 20 at half-distance and then chasing after the group of riders fighting for the last few points, but couldn’t quite make it.
Aji scored his first Grand Prix points at his home race at Mandalika in March, when he finished an excellent 14th.
With Foggia off the pace, Honda’s best hope for a podium was Riccardo Rossi (Sic 58 Squadra Corse Honda NSF250RW) who was running with the lead group when he crashed out shortly after half-distance. The 20-year-old Italian had qualified well on the third row and had high hopes of fighting for the podium. His best result so far this year is a fourth place, in last month’s Argentine GP.
Honda’s best finisher was therefore rookie Scott Ogden (Visiontrack Racing Team Honda NSF250RW) who impressed with his speed in only his sixth Grand Prix race. The 18-year-old Briton held his own competing with much more experienced riders, finishing 12th, equalling his best result so far in the Grand Prix of the Americas and only 0.073 seconds behind the 11th-place finisher.
Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda NSF250RW) ended the race two places behind Ogden in 14th.
Aji’s team-mate Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) had a more complicated Sunday at Jerez. The 16-year-old from Kanoya started from 21st on the grid but lost several places on the first lap, dropping to 26th at the end of it. That left the rookie, who missed the first two races of his debut Grand Prix season due to injury, to fight his way back to 21st at the end of the 22 laps.
Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) had another tough day, crashing out before halfway through the race.
The 2022 Moto3 series continues with the French Grand Prix at Le Mans on May 15.
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To start from the back of the grid made the race challenging. We were near to scoring another point – 17th is not bad, fighting in the second group. My feeling on the bike was comfortable from the beginning of the race until the end. When the tyres dropped I could also manage well. Every lap I thought about what my chief mechanic told me – to win on acceleration. It wasn't difficult because my instinct was to be brave on the brakes. When I saw my mechanics smiling at the end of the race, that was a good motivation to know that they support me as a family.
To start from the back of the grid made the race challenging. We were near to scoring another point – 17th is not bad, fighting in the second group. My feeling on the bike was comfortable from the beginning of the race until the end. When the tyres dropped I could also manage well. Every lap I thought about what my chief mechanic told me – to win on acceleration. It wasn't difficult because my instinct was to be brave on the brakes. When I saw my mechanics smiling at the end of the race, that was a good motivation to know that they support me as a family.
For me, this race was positive – I got my best lap time of the weekend. I tried to follow the group but I lost some tenths every lap. My pace was 47s; this is good in terms of experience and consistency and speed. That is all part of my learning process.
For me, this race was positive – I got my best lap time of the weekend. I tried to follow the group but I lost some tenths every lap. My pace was 47s; this is good in terms of experience and consistency and speed. That is all part of my learning process.
