Aegerter still struggling, Mulhauser makes a progress
On a circuit, where he has already stared three times - he got his first GP victory in 2005 and repeated his triumph the following year in 125cc before he won in 2012 in Moto2 - Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) places himself as one of the candidates for the victory on Sunday in Le Mans as he was classified second in the opening day of the French Grand Prix in Le Mans, 82 thousands of a second behind the reigning world champion Esteve "Tito" Rabat (the two were on top already in the opening free practice this morning). Fourth in Jerez de la Frontera, Lüthi and his two countrymen Dominique Aegerter (20th today) and Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 26th) worked in Aragon for two days before coming here. The boss of CGBM Evolution, who owns the two teams, Fred Corminboeuf summed up the first day of practice in the following words: "This is a circuit that normally suits Tom well and the work we did in Aragon starts to bear its fruit. His two sessions today were great, but qualifying on Saturday afternoon is important and even more the race on Sunday. With Dominique Aegerter, he had a promising session this morning; Domi has proven that he is capable of some very interesting things; this is the first dead moment of his career, he has to cope with this difficult moment and us, with the whole team, we have to make this dead moment pass as quickly as possible. When it comes to Robin Mulhauser, his start to the weekend wasn't bad, after a very difficult Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera, Robin makes a step forward and if he can be in Top-22 in qualifying, he could give us a nice surprise on Sunday."
They said...
Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 20th): "Things are still not easy. We tried many things in Aragon but without finding a miracle. It was a bit better this morning but I am still experiencing the same problems: I do not have a feeling with the front of my bike. I agreed with Gilles Bigot, my chief technician, that Frédéric Petit, a former French rider, who helps other riders in the paddock, would watch me from the service road. We are trying to find solutions and you can imagine that I am really disappointed at the moment with the first part of the season."
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 26th): "I feel comfortable on this circuit. My ideal time, putting my best sector times together, is less than 1,8 seconds off the provisional pole man. I learned a lot this afternoon riding behind Tom. My pace was not bad and I managed my fastest time with rather used tires. We tried many different things in Aragon, I did more than 160 laps and my chief technician, Didier Langouët, was able to collect a lot of information. I feel good this weekend and I want to prove it in the race."
