Phenomenal Folger seizes 2nd at home Grand Prix – Relentless Zarco battles to 9th
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Phenomenal Folger seizes 2nd at home Grand Prix – Relentless Zarco battles to 9th
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Jonas Folger delivered an incredible performance today in front of his ecstatic home crowd by sealing a maiden MotoGP podium. The young gun started the race from 5th on the grid and on the sixth lap, he expertly moved into the lead ahead of Marc Marquez. The pair swapped positions five laps later, but the determined Folger kept focused before memorably meeting the chequered flag in 2nd and as the leading Yamaha.

Meanwhile, Johann Zarco produced a determined performance today to seize 9th, as he muscled his way through the field from 19th on the grid. The French star endured a tough qualifying but pushed non-stop as he consistently progressed. At the start of the penultimate lap, he dived past Cal Crutchlow to move into 9th and he powered onwards to complete the race in this position. The MotoGP paddock will return to the track for the Monster Energy Grand Prix České Republiky which takes place on the 6th August.
       
Jonas Folger - Position: 2nd - Championship: 7th - Points: 71

“I don’t really know what to say other than I am so happy and I still can’t quite believe what we achieved! I fought with Marc for the victory and we had a great performance. I especially showed that I can get on the podium, which is a super feeling and a big boost for my confidence. In the past, Johann had a lot of good races whereas I sometimes didn’t because I made some small mistakes, but today I finally feel like I showed my potential. I think that we have to enjoy this moment and take the positive points that we made here to Brno and into the rest of the season. Thanks to my team for their work and I am already looking forward to getting back on my Yamaha in the Czech Republic after the summer break.”

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Johann Zarco Position: 9th - Championship: 6th - Points: 84

“Overall, it was a great race for me today in Germany. On the first day, I felt good but then the weather made things difficult on Saturday and I had a crash in FP3, which complicated matters so in the end, I started from 19th. Yet, I kept calm and I managed the GP lap by lap, which allowed me to overtake my opponents. I saw that the other riders started to struggle and I was stronger so I thought that I could almost take 7th and 8th but they were a bit too far in front. It is difficult to overtake here at Sachsenring but I did my best even if it was tough to be at the back of the group. However, I am happy because it has been a great experience and we are leaving this Grand Prix, for the summer break, in a positive way. I am also very pleased with what Jonas did. In the race, he was so good and it was great for our team and for him so overall, I am happy for everyone.”

Hervé PONCHARAL - Team manager

“It was an incredible weekend for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team and we have started the summer vacation in the best way. I think that since the beginning of the year, Johann has been our leading rider in terms of results and we are for sure, very happy about this. Yet, to work properly as a team you need to have two strong legs, but until here, one leg was stronger than the other. We experienced a dream in France when Johann Zarco scored a 2nd place finish at his home Grand Prix and we thought that would be the highlight of the 2017 season. Yet, today, Jonas Folger did the exact same by finishing 2nd at his home GP in Germany. The first half of the season has been like a dream for us and I have no words to say exactly how I feel and I can’t congratulate my two riders enough. One of the things that I would like to mention, which shows the Tech3 spirit, is that although no one asked him to, Johann took the decision to go down to Parc Fermé and hug Jonas Folger. This is something we don’t see very often, and that touched me, plus it shows how close the Tech3 team is working together. The young Hector Garzo who rode for us in Moto2 this weekend was also at the podium to celebrate Jonas’ result! I would, of course, like to congratulate Jonas and thank him a lot. We must also not forget about Johann Zarco who made an incredible recovery to 9th from 19th at this track, where it is really difficult to overtake. We are 6th and 7th in the championship standings, plus our guys are the first and second rookies and independent riders which is great and we couldn’t ask for more. I hope that everyone in the Tech3 team has a relaxing vacation because they all deserve it, and we will be back in the Czech Republic soon.”

02-07-2017, 06:36 PM
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