Estoril, 31 October: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet got a positive 6th place in today’s 28-lap Grand Prix of Portugal at Estoril race track. The penultimate round of the season got underway at 13:00 local time and was held in dry conditions with strong winds and squalls blowing in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
After the cancellation of yesterday’s qualifying due to the adverse weather conditions, De Puniet started from the 8th spot on the grid and climbed up to the 5th position at the end of lap one. The Frenchman riding the RC212V aimed to stay up in the pack but missed his braking points in turn one loosing 3 seconds. Randy and his squad will be back on track next week end for the ultimate round of the season in Valencia.
De Puniet – 6th
De Puniet : “I am quite satisfied because this is the best result so far after my bad injury. The weather today was good but it was a sort of gamble for everybody as we did not test in the dry. I took a good start and felt immediately comfortable on the bike. I missed my breaking points in turn one and run wide loosing 3 seconds. Probably without those little mistakes I could have battled for the podium. Since my injury I am still facing some problems in braking the bike and downshifting but I am really pleased with this result and want to thank the Team for the good overall package”.