After a battling 26-laps at the 250cc Portuguese Grand Prix, Yuki Takahashi finished the race in sixth position. Starting from fifth position on the grid, Yuki was baulked for the early laps as he got caught up with some slower riders. Eventually the Japanese rider caught up with the leading group and slotted into third place, but Yuki was soon caught and passed by KTM’s Mika Kallio leaving the JiR Team Scot rider to battle with Mattia Pasini and Hiroshi Aoyama. With ten laps to go Yuki began to push hard once more, but was caught by Thomas Luthi. By now Yuki’s front tyre was giving him less grip so his Honda was unable to hold onto the podium place and he finished the race in sixth place. The result gives Yuki fourth in the championship still near the championship leader Kallio.
Cirano Mularoni – Team Manager, JiR Team Scot“After the good practice sessions I said that we had the possibility to catch the podium but the start of the race mean that this didn’t pan out for us. I’m sure that Yuki could have done the times required to stay with the leaders, but at the start he got caught up with some riders who were much slower than Yuki in the corners. As usual Yuki attacked and showed his fighting spirit and good physical condition. We are now fourth in the championship and not too far from the leader and this will push us on in the coming races.”
Yuki Takahashi – Rider, JiR Team Scot 250GP
HONDA RS250RW6th Position - 9th fastest lap - 1’42.575”
“I’m satisfied about my race and riding style on the Honda, but I expected a better result because the bike was well prepared for Estoril in the practice sessions by my team. I got a good start but in the first laps I was in a slower group and got held up – particularly in the corners. It was hard to overtake and on the straight they were simply faster than me. To catch them I had to be at my absolute maximum. The track condition wasn’t so good, because overnight rain cleaned the track and lap-times were higher than in practice. Near the end of the race Thomas Luthi caught us fast but by then my front tyre was finished. I lost grip for a while and it was impossible to get a good rhythm. I’m sad as here we could do better, but in the championship we are near to the top and we can improve.”
Gianni Berti – Technical Co-ordinator, JiR Team Scot“A positive race considering our race condition and also the fact that thanks to the overnight rain the track conditions were not so good and there were also some damp patches. This meant that the lap times were not so good. Yesterday the team worked very hard and gave Yuki a very good bike to race with and he rode a race, which was always aggressive. His performance is always moving forward and I think in the championship we can get better results in the future.”
