Simon explains last lap gaffe
Added on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Simon explains last lap gaffe
Julián Simón blamed the circuit scoreboard for his final lap blunder in Barcelona on Sunday that cost him victory in the Catalunya Grand Prix.
Simón started celebrating victory after crossing the line on what he thought was the final lap, only to realise that one lap remained of Sunday’s 125 Catalunya Grand Prix.
The blunder forced the Aspar rider into fourth position going into the first turn although the 22-year-old thought that he had rescued a podium finish on the final straight. After pulling into Parc Ferme however, a photo finish revealed that Simón had been beaten to third by teammate Sergio Gadea.
But a red-faced Simón later explained that the blunder was due to erroneous displays on the Barcelona track scoreboard, revealing that he was using that rather than his own pit board for lap information.
“Here the cronometry Works differently to at other tracks,” he added, referring to the Circuit de Catalunya’s score tower. “When they put up L1 it is really the second lap, because the final lap is shown by showing a zero.
“It was a pity, as I cut the gas a bit and had completely forgotten to look for the chequered flag, and only reacted when the other riders passed me at top speed. I had to go back to fighting for the podium.”
He added: “It is a pity because I was watching the pace on every lap in order to take victory, and in the previous lap I saw L1 on the control tower, so I thought that the race was over.
“The mechanics put +0.6 on the board ahead of Iannone and when I didn’t see the chequered flag I didn’t know what had happened.
“I want to apologise to my team, because they did an impeccable job over the weekend. It leaves a bittersweet taste, but the positive thing is that we are still leading the championship, we did a great race and we are on the right track.”
But despite the howler, Simón still managed to jump to the top of the 125 standings, unseating British rider Bradley Smith who could only finish eighth.
