Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Stefan Bradl enjoyed an ‘exciting’ final race in the premier class, recovering from a poor start to take the chequered flag in 13th.
The German rider had to have a new clutch fitted to his RS-GP following an issue in morning warm up, and this saw him struggle off the line at the start of the 30-lap Grand Prix. Opting to run the medium front tyre, which he hadn’t ridden with during the afternoon free practice sessions at any point this weekend, the opening laps were a voyage of discovery for Bradl.
Once he settled into a rhythm and was confident enough in his RS-GP to push, Bradl set about chasing the points. He quickly carved his way through the pack in the second half of the race, and found a way past Pramac Ducati’s Scott Redding for 13th on the final lap.
This was Bradl’s 13th points finish of the season and saw him secure 16th in the 2016 world championship standings. The efforts of him and his teammate Alvaro Bautista, as well as the constant development of the RS-GP, saw Aprilia score 101 points in the constructor standings, 65 more than they did in 2015.
The 2011 Moto2 World Champion, after five years in the premier class, will step over to the World Superbike Championship with the Ten Kate Honda team alongside former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden in 2017. Having spent the last season and a half with Aprilia, the German is happy with all he achieved with the Noale factory and wishes them all the best for the future.
“It was a very exciting race, especially in the second half when I was able to push and overtake Redding, besides the fact that it is my last MotoGP race,” he said.
“Speaking of the race, unfortunately, after the warm up we had to replace the clutch and I was unable to make a good start, which did not make things simple. We decided to start with the soft front tyre, which we had not used in the afternoon sessions, and that meant that I had to adapt a bit, especially in the first laps. From the mid-race point on things improved, but the gap was already too big to strive for a better position. In any case, we finished in the points and, on a track that is difficult for us, that result was not a given.
“I wish to thank all the guys and Aprilia. This experience has helped me to grow as a rider, taking on a new challenge made up of testing and developing a new project. We can be satisfied with the work we have done and I wish them the best of luck for the future.”
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