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The Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Herald
More points for Moodley in Aragon
Gqeberha riding sensation Ruche Moodley had an exceptional outing at this past weekend's round of the Moto3 World Championship, with the sole SA rider in the field making a successful return from a fractured arm and a missed round in France. Moodley crossed the finish line in 14th at Ciudad del Motor de Aragon in Spain, claiming yet more points in his first-ever campaign at this level. Having had some more recovery time and battling through the pain at the last round in Silverstone, he was more optimistic heading into round eight. 'I knew that Silverstone was going to be tough. 'But with a bit more time to build more strength in my injured arm, I had a good feeling going into this weekend's Aragon race,' said the teenager. And so it proved with Moodley starting the weekend feeling confident and stronger, ending in 10th place at the end of the opening practice session on Friday morning. He maintained this strong showing and claimed 14th place in the second session. MotoGP applies an interesting system for qualifying, with the top 10 times recorded in the second practice session giving riders a free pass directly into qualifying 2 (Q2). In Q2, they compete for pole position. The rest of the field has to fight in Q1 for their grid positions. A similar concept has been applied to Moto3, where the top 14 riders immediately pass into Q2, so Moodley's lap time was quick enough to progress straight into Q2. 'It was great to keep up the early pace from the start of the weekend. 'I had a good feeling with the bike and delivered a lap that was quick enough to get into Q2. 'I knew from there it was game on.' Qualifying in Aragon relies heavily on slipstreaming. There is a nearly 1km-long straight towards the end of the lap where a good draft can be worth about half a second per lap. Moodley preferred to run alone during qualifying, where another rider's mistake can ruin a good lap time. This may have cost a little time, but a clean lap meant he would start 14th on the grid. The Moto3 race start was, as always, a close-fought affair. Aragon is an exceptional motorcycle circuit that provides plenty of overtaking opportunities, so Moodley fought hard from the beginning. 'I knew it's a long race here and that tyre strategy would come into play and our strategy since the start of my rookie season has been to complete every race as we learn all the tracks of the calendar.' Moodley slowly picked off his rivals to edge up to 14th by half race distance with his pace hotting up as the race progressed and his confidence built. His quickest lap time was quicker than his qualifying lap, and just a few tenths off the race leaders. 'There was a massive 10-bike group battling for the lead. 'I was just off that pack, in the middle ground. 'They were all dragging each other along down the long straight. 'I could see them, but I was just too far back to get a slipstream. 'It was a bit frustrating, but they were also not getting away from me.' 'All in all, I am pleased with how this weekend progressed. 'It was a good showing now that my arm is getting stronger. 'We can only go upwards from here,' said the comeback kid. The Herald
The Herald
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Painful Silverstone race for Ruche Moodley
Ruche Moodley made a welcome return to the Moto3 world championship at Silverstone after missing the sixth round, having fractured the radius in his right arm in round five. The 18-year-old Gqeberha rider was given the green light to race in the Silverstone Grand Prix by the FIM medical team. 'I was really happy when the FIM medical team gave me clearance to race this weekend, as I was really frustrated watching the French GP from my couch at home, and it's great to be back on the bike,' Moodley said. 'I have been training almost from the day I got back from the hospital, so I knew my fitness wasn't going to be a problem. But my arm was still quite sore.' The weekend started in a positive manner as Moodley felt good on the bike and delivered competitive lap times, despite still nursing his injured dominant arm. He had a steady qualifying session, managing his tyres and the pain in his arm to place his BOE Motorsports machine in 21st position in the huge Moto3 field. He also had to serve a double long-lap penalty for his role in an incident at the Spanish Grand Prix, which resulted in the fractured arm, so he had a mountain to climb. 'Silverstone is such a high-speed circuit, both with long straights and fast, flowing corners,' Moodley said. 'It really is a physical track that demands a lot of riders. So, we had made a decision that I would stay out of trouble on the opening laps. 'If I crashed or was taken out, my penalty laps would be carried over to the next race. 'So, I took it easy at the start and dropped a few positions on the opening lap. 'This race, for me, was all about getting to the finish line more than anything else. 'I took my penalty laps early in the race, on laps two and three, as I figured the field would be most bunched up then. 'With those two laps done, I kept my head down. I had to focus on the track and getting to the end. 'I struggled later on because I lost a lot of feeling in my arm. It started to feel numb, so it was difficult to feel what the bike was doing. 'I don't have the strength that I had before to muscle the bike around, since I could only start moving my arm in the week leading up to the race. It was immobilised for three weeks and lost strength.' Moodley had a rather lonely race as the front pack set a blistering pace. He steadily worked his way up from 24th to finish 20th when the checkered flag was waved. 'That felt like the longest race of my life. In the second part of the race, I was pretty much on my own, just counting down the laps. 'I was trying not to think about the pain, I was really glad to see the checkered flag. 'The plan now is to build up the strength in my hand. 'I will be much stronger in two weeks when we get to Aragon. I am looking forward to riding that incredible circuit,' he said. The Herald
