De Puniet unharmed after Sepang highside
Added on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
De Puniet unharmed after Sepang highside
Randy de Puniet was pleased to leave Sepang unscathed at the weekend after an early high-side ended his race prematurely on Sunday.
The Frenchman crashed out after just two laps in Malaysia after losing grip in his rear tyre, sending him flying into the gravel trap.
It was a disappointing end to the weekend for the LCR Honda rider who, having qualified in eighth, managed to work his way to fifth position following a strong start in wet conditions but he emerged unharmed from the accident and will race at the final round of the season in Valencia next week.
“I am very disappointed for me and the team,” De Puniet admitted. “We had found a good race set-up yesterday and I qualified eighth in the morning warm-up session. Then the rain storm changed the conditions completely but I was pretty confident as I usually lap with a good pace in the wet. I took a good start finishing the first lap in 5th position.”
“Then in the second lap I lost the rear on turn 3 suffering a big high-side. I really do not remember what happened but after having watched the accident on the TV, I feel lucky because I am okay!”
The crash was only de Puniet’s second DNF of the season following a crash at Sachsenring in Germany back in July.
