Heroic Aegerter out for the rest of the weekend, Mulhauser wants a nice present
Second in the first practice session in the morning and fastest on track in the afternoon, Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) made a head start to the last round of the 2015 season on the circuit of Cheste, where he claimed a victory last year. After a fantastic second position in the Malaysian Grand Prix, Lüthi did a promising number of fast laps to eventually finish ahead of Sam Lowes from Britain by two tenths. Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) celebrated his comeback today after a serious injury that he sustained in Aragon earlier this autumn; he wanted to assess his fitness this Friday. Twenty-eighth at the end - one thousand of a second behind his teammate Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten) - Dominique decided not to take part in the remainder of the weekend due to lack of force in his right hand. It will be Joshua Hook from Australia, who will sit on the motorcycle of the Swiss team on Saturday morning. A sum up of the day with the boss Frédéric Corminboeuf: "Dominique made a heroic effort and it was very difficult for us to make this decision together to end this weekend. His physical condition is good but the bones in his right hand have not completely grown together and in the right hand corners he simply does not have enough strength. This is not a defeat. On the contrary, the fact that he tried only six weeks after his accident is like a victory. Robin made a progress throughout the day and I have a feeling that a Top-20 finish in qualifying is possible; as for Tom, he is strong. He was very consistent this morning and in the afternoon, he continues in the same positive direction since the overseas tour and although we cannot get carried away, it is always nice to start a weekend on top of the classification."
They said...
Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 27th): "We started the weekend with the bike from Sepang, but that did not work at all. This afternoon we changed everything and I felt good straight away. On my last lap I was capable of reaching the Top-20 when Axel Pons ruined my efforts. It is my birthday tomorrow, it's the 7th November and I am box number 7.. I have a dream.. a 7th position! Now more seriously, I feel that I can do well here."
Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 28th): "I was nicely surprised this morning but this afternoon when the pace increased and I had to work with my body more, I understood that my right hand still has a lot of issues. Unfortunately a painkiller cannot not fix the bones and in the right hand corners I simply cannot push. I am sorry to my fans, I tried, doctors declared me fit to ride, this decision was difficult to make but I am sure that it is the best."
