Brad Binder would be a solid contender for the prize for the best opening lap (if there were one): kicking off from 16th on grid, the South African crossed the first finish line in 9th position, overtaking 7 riders. Then he progressed to 7th in lap 12, and then back to 9th to the end. For further information, it is to be stressed that he was better placed at the last corner before the final straight, but lost a position and, unfortunately, that meant that he had to cede the rank of best Mahindra in the Championship Classification for just one point. Jules Danilo was able to pass three riders at the start, but had to surround at lap 7 because of a crash.
Brad Binder (40’15”231 – 9th) “At the beginning, my bike was really good and the performance great but, as the race went on, the performance didn’t remain. This is not the way we wanted to finish the Championship, unfortunately”.
Jules Danilo (dnf): “Disappointing end of the year. We struggled quite a lot all the weekend in T2. In the race I was behind a group fighting for position 20 and pushing, with lap times faster than qualifying, but while hard-braking I went wide and crashed”.
Fiorenzo Caponera (Team Principal) “Just one more point was needed to fully achieve our target. We knew even before the start that the race would be difficult: this is a kind of track that levels the performances, and you cannot make a big difference from a technical point of view. Plus, this was the last race, which is always an unpredictable game. It’s a pity, because the race itself, and notably the first part, showed that the bike was good, and probably we could get something more. There is a bit of regret, but we are already focused on the future: the 2015 season is going to begin shortly, when we are due to test, from November 27th, in Almeria (Spain)”.