QMMF Racing Team rider Ricky Cardús pushes too hard in practice
QMMF Racing Team rider Ricky Cardús, who had never been on the Le Mans circuit before, impressed the audience with quick lap times early in the first practice session for the French Motorcycle Grand Prix, but then took too many risks and suffered a set-back with a crash. In the afternoon, the 23-year-old Spaniard wasn’t able to improve on his previous best time and slipped to 26th place.
Team-mate Mashel Al-Naimi, a veteran in Le Mans rider after several successful performances in the Endurance World Championship, took a more cautious approach. The 26-year-old from Doha/Qatar didn’t immediately push for fast lap times, but used his Le Mans experience with 1000 cc bikes to compare with the feeling and behaviour of his 600 cc prototype and came to valuable conclusions for his base set-up and for his riding style in the Moto2 category.
The team was reinforced with 24-year-old Australian Alexander Cudlin, who successfully competes in the Qatar Superbike Championship and who was rewarded with this Grand Prix experience for his efforts within the QMMF racing structure. On his first ever day of Grand Prix racing, Cudlin rode to 38th position.
Mashel Al Naimi (39th in 1.42,210)
“I am happy because I know this track and I now understand what might exactly be my problem. I know all parts of this track and I know the maximum corner speeds we should be able to run. In the tight corners it seems to me that we have too much engine brake and there is too much movement on the bike. For tomorrow I will try to make some improvements on the engine and a better setting for the clutch and we will see if I can go faster. I rode here in 2008 in the World Endurance and we were second. 2009 we led the race for about 20 hours and then we had a problem – my teammate crashed. We lost time fixing the bike and finished second once again!”
Ricky Cardús (26th in 1.40,311)
“We started this morning with a lot of confidence even though it was my first time on this circuit, but sometimes too much confidence turns into the opposite: I crashed and my first practice session was over! In the afternoon, we started with another engine set-up, but more than anything else, I noticed that my riding wasn’t the same as before. The crash somehow affected me, I didn’t have the same level of confidence, and the bike seemed to be more difficult to ride. There are a few things to sort on the set-up which should help me keep my mistakes under control. We’ll try to do better tomorrow!”
Alexander Cudlin (38th in 1.42,153) “I ride for QMMF in the World Endurance Championship and the Qatar Superbike Championship. So I’ve been with them for a year and a half now. I ride against Mashel in the Qatar Superbike Championship and also the 8 hours of Qatar. It’s a great opportunity for me to compete in a Grand Prix, but I am not comfortable yet on the bike, especially through the corners where I don’t have a great feeling right now. Obviously I need to learn the bike as I am used to ride Superbikes and they are a lot heavier and bigger. At the moment I am just trying to get my head around. Hopefully I can increase the speed tomorrow. We need to change a few things on the bike, but to be honest the most of it is me – I just need to get more comfortable!”
