Schmidt Racing Part Ways with MV Agusta
WorldSSP team’s Nico Terol and Kyle Ryde to switch machinery after difficult Misano
After technical problems experienced for both riders during practice sessions and Tissot-Superpole, Nico Terol and Kyle Ryde faced an uphill struggle at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – starting from Row 8 and Row 11 respectively.
Terol made a good start which saw him make up several positions, but the former 125 World Champion was unable to find a good rhythm, ending the Race in 19th. After having been on the WorldSSP podium already in 2016 at MotorLand Aragón, the 16-time GP winner was left with a weekend to forget on a track he knows well.
“The team has done all it could, but the bike prevented me from scoring a better result,” said Terol. “I had both chassis and engine issues. It would slip into neutral and the engine brake wasn’t working well. I’m angry because I know we can do a lot more and hope that, in the future, we can express our full potential.”
Teammate Kyle Ryde, who recently joined the team, was making progress in the race and had begun to push forward when the podium finisher suffered an engine problem.
“Today’s race went a little better than the practices,” said Ryde. “We made some more changes to the bike and I felt more confident with it. I set my personal best lap of the weekend, but after maybe five or six good laps I think the gasket broke and I had oil all over my boot, meaning it was slippery and I couldn’t change gear easily and so I gradually went backwards. Better luck next time…”
Things look set to change for the team for Lausitzring, with a new direction set in place to try and get both riders back nearer the front of the field, with neither a stranger to the top 5 and pushing to return there as soon as possible.
“On the one hand I’m totally unsatisfied with how things have gone here in Misano, but on the other hand I’m pleased because we are working towards our future,” concluded Robert Balogh, Team Manager. “We will interrupt our relationship with MV and I’m sure that we can get back to being competitive when the championship resumes after the summer break. As ever, our riders and technicians have done their best, but these results clearly do not reflect our abilities.”
As the WorldSBK grid head to Laguna Seca to hang out with MotoAmerica at Round 9, WorldSSP and STK1000 begin their summer break until the German Round, set for Lausitzring on the 16th-18th September.
