A severe penalty prevents Taiyo from scoring points in Austria

We have been fighting to score points with Taiyo. He was in the middle of the group when a rider accidentally touched him and had to cut the chicane; he was penalized for that, losing contact with the group and finishing 18th. Tatchakorn fought a lot initially to maintain his position to finish P23, while Mario finished P26. The result isn’t what we wanted, but we must accept the situation and improve from this point. The next race is Catalunya, a track we know very well and where we want to take a step forward. 

I made a mistake in Turn 2 on the first lap. I almost touched another rider, and to avoid crashing, I cut the chicane and was penalized with a long lap penalty. Before that penalty, I rode faster than the rest of the weekend, with the ninth-fastest lap of the race. I had clear options to score points. My feeling with the bike was great. After the long lap, I needed some laps to get the feel of riding alone. When my pace was good enough, I caught the group fighting for points, but it was too late. Overall, I’m happy for the weekend; we collect essential information for the next rounds. 

I’m happy about this second experience in the World Championship. We made another step ahead, improving lap by lap and trying to keep a constant pace. My lap time has been the better of the weekend. I want to thank Honda Team Asia and Thai Honda for giving me this chance. 

Honestly, that is a weekend to forget for me. I didn’t expect that the feeling I got on the race was worse than in qualifying, where I felt comfortable. In the race, I struggled, pushing on my limit, but the speed didn’t come. We need to solve the problem with the chatter. My team and I need to find a solution.