Poncharal looks on the bright side
Yamaha Tech3 team principal Herve Poncharal prefers to look at the positives and not the disappointment.
His rider, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah finished just out of the points at the Austrian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday.
Poncharal said he had anticipated a tough weekend at the Red Bull Ring — where even the factory Yamahas had found it difficult.
“We knew this weekend wouldn’t be easy and in the end it wasn’t,” said Poncharal.
“Hafizh had a really good race. He had a slow start but recovered really well and finished ahead of Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli and was right behind Takaaki Nakagami.
“I think with one more lap, he might have been able to get one more position because he was a lot quicker than the two of them (Morbidelli and Nakagami).
“Well, 16th is not the best result, but he learned a lot and I think this is what we are expecting from him.
“I’m proud of Hafizh and of what he did because the whole race was truly competitive, fast from the start to the end and he did a good job. These two races (Czech GP and Austria GP) back to back were a bit tough.
“Now we have a few days off and then it’s time to go to Silverstone.”
Hafizh had finished just inside the points in 14th at the Czech GP. He is currently 16th in the overall MotoGP standings.
He remains in the lead in the rookie standings, albeit with only a two-point advantage over second placed Morbidelli.
The next round of the championship will be held at the Silverstone circuit next weekend.