The CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team rider won the race at MotorLand Aragón on his return to competition following the injury he sustained just two weeks ago. Marco Morelli joined him on the podium after crossing the finish line in third place
Máximo Quiles now has seven victories to his name following his win this Sunday at the Aragon Grand Prix. The CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team rider has come through a difficult weekend after undergoing surgery just two weeks ago for a collarbone injury. His team-mate Marco Morelli joined him on the podium after crossing the finish line in third place. The Argentine gave it his all right to the end, but was unable to catch David Almansa, who finished second.
The CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team made the most of their advantage of starting from the front row of the grid. Quiles and Morelli stayed with the leading group, which quickly dwindled to just four riders, including both of them. After the opening laps, the riders set a fast pace, whilst keeping an eye on tyre wear. Quiles held onto second place and closely monitored every move made by the leader – at that point, David Almansa – until he found the right moment to take the lead. With five laps to go, he achieved his objective and defended his position, even managing to extend his lead by a few tenths of a second. This victory, his seventh of the season, confirms the rider’s excellent physical condition following the injury that forced him to miss the Silverstone race; furthermore, it has once again increased his lead in the overall standings to 97 points.
Marco Morelli also put in one of his best races. The Argentine dropped to fourth place after the opening laps, but never fell far behind the top three. In the final stages of the race, the CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team rider was involved in a thrilling battle for third place and produced his best riding to defend the final step on the podium. This is Morelli’s fourth podium finish of the season and has allowed him to pick up some vital points in the standings, where he currently sits in fifth place.
Win Máximo Quiles: “It’s the most special victory of my career; it feels like glory. Who would have thought it two weeks ago, when I’d just had an operation? I’ve spent the last twenty days trying to speed up my recovery and I’m very happy. The whole team has done a great job – the physios, my coach… This win is for all of them.”
3rd Marco Morelli (+0.715): “It was a very tough race, but I’m happy with this third place because I was coming off a very difficult weekend at Silverstone. It seemed as though we’d taken a step backwards, but here we’ve taken three steps forwards. That’s the positive thing – both the team and I have managed to bounce back. The race was very fast; I knew it was going to be like that. I made mistakes and lost time, which forced me to push the tyres harder than I should have to get back into the leading group. I wanted to fight for the win, but in the end I was at the limit and couldn’t manage it. I finished close to Quiles and Almansa, and that’s going to be the aim from now on: to iron out the details and close the gap on them.”
