Gqeberha based Moto3 rider Ruche Moodley enjoyed an improved performance at the sixteenth round of the world championship that was held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in San Marino last weekend. Going into the weekend with a positive frame of mind the SA Rookie had the following to say “I know Misano from having competed here before, so I knew we’d have a good weekend and I really enjoy riding the Moto3 bike here as there is a nice flow to the circuit with many fast corners that link together. In Moto3 we are at full throttle through some of the corners and when you nail the lap here it is really satisfying”.
Straight off the mark Moodley’s positive frame of mind paid dividends as he set the quickest time in the first qualifying session that bought him a slot in the Q2 session.
The pole shootout in Q2 was a far more chaotic affair as no rider was keen to give any of their rivals a slipstream. As a result, about half the field returned to pit-lane without completing a lap. This caused a split in the field with Moodley choosing to stay on track.
“I made a small error on my ‘attack’ lap,” said the SA lad after the session, smiling as he rubbed shoulders with Formula One superstar Lando Norris. The McLaren title contender is a self-confessed MotoGP fan and visited the BOE Motorsport crew after qualifying. Moodley’s quickest time in Q2 was enough to net him 17th place on the starting grid.
Moodley has previously admitted that he just isn’t aggressive enough during race starts, something he’d hope to change for the remainder of the year. His start at Misano is already showing that mind-set shift. Ruche was up to 15th place by the time the 26-strong field was halfway through the opening lap.
“The race pace was incredible today. The front of the field was battling hard and still setting blisteringly quick lap times. This meant the pack strung out a bit from the early stages. I was having great battles with the guys around me. I’d gain a position or two, then get overtaken in the space of a single lap. It was great to battle with others and I learnt where I could be stronger.”
Moodley dropped down the order to 17th where he remained for a long spell, chasing those ahead as hard as he could. He managed to gain a place into 16th, one position ahead of his grid start, which was where the local lad crossed the finish line. He was just shy of a point’s finish.
“There are so many positives to take away from this weekend. I had the pace to make it into Q2 and gained places at the start of the race. Meeting one of my racing heroes, Lando, was memorable. He is such a cool guy. I am really looking forward to the remainder of the season,” concluded Moodley.
