ONDŘEJ VOSTATEK: “AFTER THE BEST QUALIFIER OF THE SEASON, RAIN BROUGHT A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.”

16. 10. 2018
The past weekend of 13-14 October saw the racers of the FIM CEV Repsol Championship gather at the Albacete circuit for the penultimate 2018 battle for points. In the European Talent Cup category, Czech racer Ondřej Vostatek performed excellently in the qualifier, only falling a mere 0.4 seconds behind the pole setter placing 7th. In the warm-up prior to the race, he had the 5th best time among the 40 racers. A great hope was thwarted by rain starting just before the race. Unfortunately, our racer was unable to adapt to the weather change and finished 18th with no points.

It was Ondřej Vostatek's second attendance at the Albacete circuit this year, a place where he had prior success early in 2018 in the form of 2nd place at the Spanish CEV championship – Pre-moto3 category. This ensured he arrived at Albacete with a strong dedication to go for similar success in the European Talent Cup. Together with his Igax team, Ondřej had been fine-tuning the latest modifications on his bike, which was very well prepared from the very beginning.

During the difficult qualifier, he managed to register the 7th best time only a mere 0.4 seconds behind pole position. However, the record-setting total of twenty racers were within one second of the lead, hinting that the race will be a fantastic spectacle where anyone could win. During the warm-up prior to the race, Ondřej had confirmed his speed by recording the 5th fasted time and things were looking very promising.

Yet just before the race the ideal weather conditions changed and it started raining. The start of the race was delayed by several minutes as a result. Following a penalty for one of his opponents, Ondřej was now to start the race from the 6th grid position, closing out the second row, which was his best overall starting position in this year's ETC. Ondřej began well and held onto his position after the race start. However, shortly thereafter he dropped back into the middle of the field and it was clear that regaining a leading position was going to be very difficult. The entire field of riders broke apart right after the start, and numerous favourites ended up struggling. It was not clear as to who was going to savour the victory until the very last lap. Our rider was amongst a group of racers fighting for points. But Ondřej's opponents took advantage of him running "long" into the final turn and past him on the inside to push him back to a final 18th place.

After the race, Ondřej Vostatek said:

"I had been looking forward to Albacete, because I'm usually comfortable with the circuit and do well on it. Everything was looking good during my practise and i was recoding good times. I think the qualifier went really well; we were all pleased and anxious for the race. In the warm-up, I even managed to record the 5th best time, which was fantastic. But then the rain came and I knew that' it was going to be hard... I haven't practised on wet surfaces for the entire year, so I' was bound to miss this particular experience. The start was quite successful, but I made a rookie mistake just prior to the race starting by wiping water off of my visor with my glove. I couldn't see anything up until the first turn and dropped to the middle of the field. From that point, I was fighting against myself. I wanted to at least snatch some points, but I ran long ion the last corner and my opponents took advantage of it. I am very disappointed that I didn't do well at all."

"Many racers would blame technical issues or bad tyres, but I have to say that this was simply my fault. My team has done a perfect job and the bike was very well prepared, so I apologise to the boys from the team and hope I will have an opportunity to make it up to them." he added.

"Unfortunately, this is simply how it turned out. Admittedly, Ondřej hasn't had that much time to train during the season, let alone on wet surfaces. We are constantly on the road and whenever we do find ourselves at home, we have to catch up at school and work to stay in shape. We will try to focus on this after the season, when there's hopefully more time. Ondřej likes to drive fast, which is less than ideal on wet surfaces – so they aren't exactly on good terms. He needs more time to get used to it and get comfortable with it, which is a certain disadvantage in conditions such as those during the race; but it's workable. Ondřej's major advantage is that he can feel the bike very well and can cooperate with his team on improving its capabilities, even though it does not make sense at first glance. He can contribute to the bike's development, which is something many racers can't do." said Jan Vostatek in conclusion.

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