The 250cc Grand Prix of Holland ended today with an eighth place finish for Yuki Takahashi. Starting from tenth on the grid, Yuki took four positions in the first lap, settling into sixth place as he tried to maintain contact with the leading group. But, with cold tyres and a track down on temperature – as well as having a new suspension set-up on his bike which he could not verify in morning warm-up – it took Yuki a number of laps before he could settle into a good race pace. In the second half of the race, Yuki improved his rhythm and was lapping at the same pace as the leaders, but he could not improve his position in the race. These important points have helped the Japanese rider to secure eighth place in the championship.
Cirano Mularoni - Team Manager, Team Scot JiR "We wanted to get a better result at Assen, because practice had begun well and Yuki has proven himself to be competitive, but we were unable to exploit this potential on the second day or practice thanks to the rain. The Team has worked well and for the warm-up we were ready once more, but again, the rain upset our plans. Yuki made a good start but then struggled to keep up the pace with a full tank of fuel, then by the middle of the race and with a lighter bike he was able to maintain the pace of the leading group. Yuki and Team are working well and will continue to work hard to achieve even better results."
Yuki Takahashi - Pilot JiR Team Scot 250GP HONDA RS250RW 8th position, 9th best time: 1'41 "709“I made a good race, with a good start as always and I was sixth at the end of the first lap. I tried to stay with the leaders, but I could not keep their pace. This was due to us changing the suspension after yesterday’s practice sessions, but we didn’t have the conditions to verify these changes in the warm-up. Also, with a full tank of fuel, the bike didn’t have the nimbleness through the corners that I would have liked. From mid-race I managed to lap quicker, on the pace of the leaders, but no matter how hard I pushed I was not able to gain any positions before the end of the race. I want to thank the Team, which has worked well throughout the weekend and has prepared my Honda very well; Assen is a difficult circuit for the suspension on a 250cc bike, but they did a good job.”
Gianni Berti - Technical Coordinator, JiR Team Scot“With a weekend characterized by unstable weather conditions, the Team has worked well and did their best to give Yuki the best bike for the conditions. We did a lot of hard work on the suspension of the bike, which was concluded during this morning’s warm-up. All our hard work has not shown in the result today, even though Yuki was on the pace after ten laps. We will continue to work hard and commit ourselves to maximum effort so we can get some more important results.”
