ROOKIE ADAM NORRODIN RIDES HEROIC RACE IN ARGENTINA

Circuit: Termas de Río Hondo
Circuit Length: 4.8 km

The Argentina Grand Prix came to a bitter sweet end for the DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team, following a near podium finish for Malaysian rookie Adam Norrodin.

Undeterred by the mixed weather conditions, 17-year-old Norrodin showed courage from the start, fearlessly ploughing his way through the field and claiming fourteen places on the opening lap.
Consistently lapping quickly the Malay kept his head down in third place throughout the 21 lap race, focussing his attentions on the end result. Riding smart he pushed hard to maintain a seven second gap from the group behind, whilst assessing ways to pass Navarro for second place. Determined not to settle for third place Norrodin bravely battled to the very end, but bad luck struck in the final corner seeing Norrodin high-side after touching a wet part of the track. Despite being injured from the crash, Norrodin picked up his #7 machine and ran across the line, claiming 11th place and his first points of the season.

Staring from fourteenth position, Jakub Kornfeil worked hard to find his rhythm in the trying conditions. Gaining pace and confidence lap by lap, the Czech rider worked hard to close in on the group ahead. Determined to add more points to his Championship position, the 22-year-old fought his way into the top ten to claim 9th place as the chequered flag came out.

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager

“The conditions today were very strange; it was wet and then it started to dry up. We chose for both riders to race on slicks and I’m pleased to say we made the right decision.
Adam did an amazing start from seventeenth on the grid. We spoke about this before the race; to be fast on the dry part and try to stay with the front group so not to lose too much and that’s exactly what he did. He passed a lot of riders in the first lap and moved up into third place. From there on he pushed hard to pull away and make a gap, passed Loi and then Navarro came with him and he followed Navarro for the whole race. He did an amazing job! They had a seven second gap to the group behind. On the last lap he felt faster than Navarro so he tried to overtake in the last corner to finish in P2 but unfortunately he happened to run over a small wet patch and crashed. I feel so sorry for Adam and for the team but it doesn’t take away from the job he has done here. He rode a fantastic race; he showed so much courage and even after his crash he picked the bike up and ran over the line; he never gave up and that is a big credit to him. Of course I’m a bit sad for what could have been but still he took five points, finished eleventh and showed great potential.
For Jakub we know these mixed conditions are not really his strong point and it’s very difficult for him but he stayed calm, didn’t do anything crazy and finished within the top ten. He’s now eighth overall in the Championship and this is what we must focus on. We need to continue taking points and we need to take the opportunity when it comes with Jakub and we’ll be there.”

Credits : DRIVE M7 SIC RACING TEAM