Montmeló, Barcelona – The white-and-red Mahindra machines will start side by side for tomorrow’s Catalunyan GP, with a big hill to climb but with fresh impetus for the task, after new engine parts that arrived for this race.
Marcel Schrötter (19, from Germany) and English team-mate Danny Webb (21) qualified 30th and 31st on the grid, with lap times behind the leader ultra-close, and a few tenths of a second making a disproportionate difference to positions in the highly competitive Moto3™ class.
Both had hoped to do better, but blazing heat in the afternoon robbed the new engine of some of the power it had shown in the morning, and neither was able to match the lap times set in the earlier free practice session.
The good news is the improved reliability of the latest revised single-cylinder 250cc engine, still in its infancy up against a grid made up almost completely of well-developed over-the-counter production racers. The Mahindra MGP-30 is an all-new, all-independent machine at the start of its development path.
The Mahindra chassis has earned praise from the riders from the first tests; both say they can make up time under braking and in the corners. The engine is now in only its fifth race, and is already challenging the racing establishment.
Tomorrow’s race is the fifth of 17 rounds in the new-this-year four-stroke championship. The Mahindra team is the first Indian squad in world championship racing.
MARCEL SCHRÖTTER – 1’54.829
This morning was better, the afternoon was harder. I’m a bit disappointed. I tried 110 percent and Danny’s and my times are so similar. My feeling in the corners is much better and I can stay with the other bikes. The new engine was good, but we still lose a little in acceleration.
DANNY WEBB – 1’55.168
The position is mostly my fault: I put in new tyres at the end and I was looking for a fast group to go with … but it was too late, and the chequered flag came out. We’ve still got work to do, but with the engine improved we can start getting other stuff sorted, especially the engine mapping for power and for engine braking. You always want it to be faster, but step by step we are definitely moving in the right direction.
About Mahindra Racing
Mahindra Racing is the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship (in 2011) and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV, in 2012).
On the world stage, the Indian factory team signed off its 2011 debut season on a high note with action packed performances by both its riders. Marcel Schrötter finished 15th overall in the 125cc Rider’s Championship and the team finished a strong third overall in the Constructor’s Championship. Danny Webb made history when he secured pole position in Valencia in the last race of the 125cc era. The team takes this learning into its participation in the all new Moto3™ class which replaced the 125cc class from the 2012 season onwards.
In the CIV in Italy, the team has teamed up Indian rider Sarath Kumar with ex Italian Champion Riccardo Moretti in the 125 GP Class. The team became the first from India to win an international motorsport event when Riccardo took the chequered flag at the season-opening race of the CIV in Mugello, Italy on 25 March, 2012. Another brilliant victory on the Imola circuit on 8 April, 2012, established Moretti and his team firmly at the top of the standings.
About The Mahindra Group
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology and vacation ownership. Mahindra has a presence in the automotive industry, agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel and two wheelers.
A US $14.4 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 144,000 people in over 100 countries.
In 2011, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. Dun & Bradstreet also ranked Mahindra at No. 1 in the automobile sector in its list of India’s Top 500 Companies. In 2010, Mahindra featured in the Credit Suisse Great Brands of Tomorrow.
