Double points finish for Mahindra Racing

CHENNAI: Racing in the Phillip Island in Australia is always a challenge with weather changing its mood every now and then, basically forcing the riders to make gambles on set-up as well as tyres.
Mahindra Racing riders passed the test of the famed Island circuit with a double points finish during the MotoGP 125cc Australian GP race on Sunday.
The Indian team’s English rider Danny Webb finished 10th a spot ahead of his German mate Marcel Schrötter as Mahindra riders crossed the chequered flag in formation in a race which saw a delayed start and premature end due to rain.
The wet race was won by German Aprilia rider Sandro Cortese of Intact Racing who finished ahead of Spaniard Luis Salom (RW Racing GP, Aprilia) and Johann Zarco of France on his Derbi.
Zarco, with 246 points, is currently second in the championship table with just two rounds to go, eating into the advantage of Spaniard Nicolas Terol (Aprilia, Bankia Aspar team) who finished sixth on Sunday. Schrotter is in 16th position for Mahindra with 32 points while Webb (21 points) is 19th.
The 16th Grand Prix of the season was always going to be a lottery with the famous unpredictable weather in full bloom on Sunday.
But Webb was at home in the rain, his experience racing the equally eccentric English weather coming in handy. The Brit shot up the order from 19th on the grid to seventh in the early stages, with Schrötter following him closely.
The middle part of the race saw the teammates in a dogfight for eighth and ninth place with the more experienced Webb taking control in the last two laps. The duo lost their top-10 positions in the final lap, struggling with the slick tyres as the track dried quickly with sun coming out midway through the race.
"If it had stayed like that (wet) we'd have been really quick, but it dried out. It was a good race and I was fighting with Marcel and the people who were coming past me, but I didn’t quite have the rear grip to stay with them. I was getting on the gas and it was sliding a lot. We pulled it off; Marcel was 11th as well, so it’s a good result and I hope Mahindra are happy with that," said Webb after the race.