More points for Moodley in Aragon
Gqeberha riding sensation Ruche Moodley had an exceptional outing at this past weekend's round of the Moto3 World Championship, with the sole SA rider in the field making a successful return from a fractured arm and a missed round in France.
Moodley crossed the finish line in 14th at Ciudad del Motor de Aragon in Spain, claiming yet more points in his first-ever campaign at this level.
Having had some more recovery time and battling through the pain at the last round in Silverstone, he was more optimistic heading into round eight.
'I knew that Silverstone was going to be tough.
'But with a bit more time to build more strength in my injured arm, I had a good feeling going into this weekend's Aragon race,' said the teenager.
And so it proved with Moodley starting the weekend feeling confident and stronger, ending in 10th place at the end of the opening practice session on Friday morning.
He maintained this strong showing and claimed 14th place in the second session.
MotoGP applies an interesting system for qualifying, with the top 10 times recorded in the second practice session giving riders a free pass directly into qualifying 2 (Q2).
In Q2, they compete for pole position.
The rest of the field has to fight in Q1 for their grid positions.
A similar concept has been applied to Moto3, where the top 14 riders immediately pass into Q2, so Moodley's lap time was quick enough to progress straight into Q2.
'It was great to keep up the early pace from the start of the weekend.
'I had a good feeling with the bike and delivered a lap that was quick enough to get into Q2.
'I knew from there it was game on.'
Qualifying in Aragon relies heavily on slipstreaming.
There is a nearly 1km-long straight towards the end of the lap where a good draft can be worth about half a second per lap.
Moodley preferred to run alone during qualifying, where another rider's mistake can ruin a good lap time.
This may have cost a little time, but a clean lap meant he would start 14th on the grid.
The Moto3 race start was, as always, a close-fought affair.
Aragon is an exceptional motorcycle circuit that provides plenty of overtaking opportunities, so Moodley fought hard from the beginning.
'I knew it's a long race here and that tyre strategy would come into play and our strategy since the start of my rookie season has been to complete every race as we learn all the tracks of the calendar.'
Moodley slowly picked off his rivals to edge up to 14th by half race distance with his pace hotting up as the race progressed and his confidence built.
His quickest lap time was quicker than his qualifying lap, and just a few tenths off the race leaders.
'There was a massive 10-bike group battling for the lead.
'I was just off that pack, in the middle ground.
'They were all dragging each other along down the long straight.
'I could see them, but I was just too far back to get a slipstream.
'It was a bit frustrating, but they were also not getting away from me.'
'All in all, I am pleased with how this weekend progressed.
'It was a good showing now that my arm is getting stronger.
'We can only go upwards from here,' said the comeback kid.
The Herald
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