With rain starting to fall just moments before the Moto3 field prepared to head to the grid, teams and riders were left with the difficult decision of choosing to run with a wet or dry set up.
Despite being declared a wet race confusion broke out on the grid as the rain started to ease.
During the warm up lap some riders entered the pits to change tyres but with a wet track still in many places around the American circuit, the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team riders chose to remain on wets.
As the twenty three lap race began it quickly became apparent that the track conditions were rapidly drying out. A hive of activity grew throughout pit lane as crews swiftly prepared for a tyre change.
Making the change during the race, Jakub Kornfeil and Zulfahmi Khairuddin switched to slick tyres but loosing valuable time were unable to make progress back through the field, crossing the line in 22nd and 25th place.
Johan Stigefelt â Team Manager
âItâs been a very difficult day; just before the start of the race rain came down quite heavily so everybody went out on wet tyres, so did we. Right before the start it cleared up a bit but we along with the majority of the grid decided to stay with wets. We could have taken the gamble and gone on slicks but this is easily said in hindsight; we had to make a decision there and then and with time against you itâs not so easy. Of course we are not happy with our results today. Maybe the riders could have pushed a little more on the first two laps to get further up the field but it is like it is. We take from this race experience and we will always remember this in the future. For the weekend overall Iâm very happy with the progress made with both riders. Itâs a shame we couldnât build on this toady but we cannot look at this as a normal race. The team and riders have worked very hard, which Iâm happy about, so now we need to continue like this in Brno.â
#63 Zulfahmi Khairuddin â P22
âToday in the race there was a lot of confusion and especially on the grid. Initially it was raining but then as soon as the one minute board came out it stopped. I was on a wet tyre like everyone else, apart from Loi, so I really wasnât sure whether to change or not during the warm up lap. I saw that some riders entered pit lane but still many went straight to the grid. The track was still wet so it was a really difficult situation. I decided to change the tyres in the middle of the race but unfortunately this was too late and I was already so far back. I was able to catch some riders but it wasnât enough. The setup we had felt good and all weekend we have made great progress so Iâm very disappointed it has ended this way. Twenty fifth position is not what we expected today but this will not stop us from coming back fighting at Brno.â
#84 Jakub Kornfeil â P25
âIt was a very strange race today. We donât have these circumstances so often. On the grid nobody really knew which tyre to use because the conditions were mixed. The track was still wet but the rain had stopped. I made a normal start and the first two laps I gained positions. I decided to enter the pits on the third lap but this was already too late and I finished in 22nd place. I feel regret after this race because we could have achieved a lot more. We have been working well all weekend and we found a really good setting for the dry. You can prepare for most things but you cannot control the weather.â
