10/09/2023

Double crash for Tulovic and Agius in San Marino

It's bitter times for the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team's Moto2 squad, whose riders, Lukas Tulovic and Senna Agius, both failed to see the finish line at the Misano World Circuit.

SBright sunshine, thousands and thousands of frenetically celebrating fans, and yet the weekend ended for the only German Moto2 racing team with hanging heads. Lukas Tulovic was not able to solve his problems with the Kalex over the weekend, leading to the 24th place on the grid after a difficult qualifying. The German was in good spirits to make up a number of positions, which he did up to 16th place, but then the 23-year-old got into a feud with last year's Moto3 World Champion Izan Guevara on the last lap, causing them both to crash. Tulovic, who was fortunately uninjured, will now recover as best he can and try to prepare for the Indian Grand Prix, which will certainly be a challenge for all starters in the intermediate class.

The fate that befell the regular rider of the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 team at the end of the race, already hit Senna Agius right at the beginning. In a classic racing incident, the Australian went down in a highsider at turn 8 on lap three and was unable to rejoin the race. This is particularly tragic for the 18-year-old because he had previously made a promising improvement over the two days of practice and had thus hoped for a great race result. Encouraged by the steps he has taken in his development, the Junior GP rider is now trying to focus on the positives from his two substitute rider appearances.

When the Indian Grand Prix is held for the first time at the Buddh International Circuit from the 22nd - 24th of September, team manager Jürgen Lingg hopes to welcome Darryn Binder back to his pit box, but thanks youngster Senna Agius for his efforts as a substitute rider in the past two races. Now, however, it is time to look back on the season that has been quite demanding so far and to approach the final eight races with renewed motivation.

Results

Race
1. Pedro ACOSTA/ SPA/ KALEX
2. Celestino VIETTI/ ITA/ KALEX – (+6.305)
3. Alonso LOPEZ/ SPA/ BOSCOSCURO – (+9.989)
DNF Senna AGIUS/ AUS/ KALEX
DNF Lukas TULOVIC/ GER/ KALEX

World Championship
1. Pedro ACOSTA / SPA / 211
2. Tony ARBOLINO / ITA / 177 (-34)
3. Jake DIXON/ GBR/ 146 (-65)
19. Darryn BINDER / RSA / 13 (-198)
21. Lukas TULOVIC / GER / 12 (-199)

Lukas Tulovic

DNF
Moto2 World Championship 2023 - P21 - 12 Points

"I knew that I couldn't take the best corner exits, I always tried everything, but then Guevara was able to sit next to me out of the slipstream on the last lap and when it was time to turn into the fast right-hand bend, he was a bit ahead of me. I wanted to turn but then noticed that he wasn't turning in so I sat up again but it was too late and we collided. Other than that, the race was solid for the fact that we struggled all weekend and the starting position as well as the big gap we had. It would have been a sixteenth-place finish. The start was good, and the lap times and pace were also good for our conditions at the moment, so it's a shame that it ended up like this again. India will now be completely new and unknown to everyone. We don't have any experience, so I will at least familiarise myself with the layout on the Playstation. But I'm also looking forward to the overseas trip in general - different countries and cultures, the tracks, less hustle and bustle - it's a completely different experience, but I'll concentrate on riding solely and I think it will be a good chance to get back to the form I had a few races ago."

Senna Agius

DNF

"It's once again a really bad ending for us but generally, all the weekend I felt like we made a big step compared to the other races I've done for this team this year. I was hoping to bring a good result home for everyone today but I got caught up in a bit of a racing situation going into turn 8. I had to try and stop a bit quicker than normal, broke the rear contact and an entry high side so I am really really disappointed. We have to put that behind us as we did make a big step in all aspects, which is good."

Jürgen Lingg

Team Manager

"In FP1, Senna had a difficult start into the weekend on Friday, so we were expecting a difficult weekend, but then he really improved bit by bit. He worked out a good set-up with his team and did a 1'36.9 yesterday. He just missed Q2. That was a strong performance that made us all happy. In the race, he felt really good. He said that the bike felt perfect, but then there was a critical situation, as we know from Moto2. It was a close duel from which he eventually crashed. That is a great pity, especially as he felt so strong today. But the potential is definitely there. We saw that again this weekend and that's the positive thing we are leaning on.
Lukas' difficulties were a common thread throughout the weekend. In the race, he rode a quite acceptable pace, but the gap to the top was simply too big. It is annoying that such a crash happened on the last lap. Nevertheless, we are of course glad that both Senna and Lukas were unhurt after their crashes."

Misano GP 2023 - Sunday Moto2

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