Jorge Prado had another strong performance in moto two at Budds Creek once he reverted back to his Unadilla settings after he admitted setting changes in moto one didn’t work, leaving the Spaniard 50 seconds off the leaders despite finishing third.
Prado then showed his speed in moto two matching Hunter and Jett’s laptimes until backmarkers had a negative effect on his pace in the last ten minutes. That led to Jett Lawrence catching the Spaniard late and making the pass on the last lap with Mitchell Harrison getting in the middle of the battle leaving Prado very frustrated at the end of the moto, watch 13 minutes 19 seconds in below:
A calmer Prado said after in the press conference: “First moto, yes. I was definitely out of pace. I wanted to try some stuff, and definitely it wasn’t good, so we went back. And second moto, especially with the good start, I was riding very good. I think I got also the first lap of the race, so I would say I wasn’t out of pace. I was very close to Hunter the whole time. Then, yeah, the last 10 minutes, traffic started coming, and I tried to hold the gap, but I was just getting stuck in places. Then I lost like four laps to do a lot with one guy, and it was really behind me. Yes, she passed me on the last lap, so that was painful, but it is what it is. I mean, it’s part of racing. Anyway, I think my riding is good. So, yeah, it was a good day.
“During the break, we did some changes to the bike, and I’ve been racing a little bit different in Unadilla and this weekend. So, I definitely feel way better than the rest of the season. We only have one round left, so it’s a pity. But, yeah, we will try to get that really wanted overall win, so hopefully, we can get it in seven days.
“And then, back to today, yeah, I mean, it’s hard to pass the traffic. A lot of guys on track, some of them are real slow, and then you get into groups. They are fighting between them. So, I mean, I understand that too. So, you know, just got to be like smarter to make better moves and position myself good on the track.
On now having the regular holeshots be had in MXGP while in America Jorge said: “Well, the start system is completely different because in MXGP, everything is flat after the gate. So, basically, if you have a good jump out of the gate, you basically already get the holeshot. Here, it’s not working like that because you’ve got to choose a good line and then some of the lines are not perfect. And then, if you get a little bit off balance, you lose the start too. So, a completely different start technique as well.
“And then, obviously, those first guys in the championship are starting good. So, it’s hard to be up with them and they got it pretty dialed. I’m getting closer, in the second moto I actually had the holeshot. I just went to wide the first corner. So, it was my mistake. But, yeah, with the team, we work. Hopefully, we can get more consistent P1 starts. That’s what we need.”
