K&N’s Team Auner Supermoto Honda Austria Starts 2013 Supermoto State Championship on the Podium
- May 31, 2013
On deck to pull double-duty at Greinbach was Honda Austria/K&N Rider Andreas Rothbauer, who decided to compete in both professional classes S1 (up to 450ccm) and S Open (unlimited). Faultless weather made the start of the season ideally enjoyable for both riders and fans. “The kickoff meetings are always very special,” Rothbauer said. “We are testing a lot during the pre-season, but only now do we get to see if we are really competitive . . . and we sure are.” The Supermoto series S1 is the elite class and the one that Rothbauer focuses on each year. In qualifying the K&N rider continuously improved his speed with every lap during the sessions, which lead to his near perfect start in Heat 1. After the first lap Rothbauer was already in second and clearly finding his rhythm, however a late race pass by World Champion, Hannes Maier, pushed Rothbauer into third. In Heat 2 Rothbauer again got off to a great start and after a race long battle with the top five finishers, the K&N Supermoto rider crossed the finish line in fourth. After the event Rothbauer remarked “The S1 Class is still the elite class and not only in Austria. We had really good races and fights. I had a good rhythm and I am very glad to finish on the overall podium this weekend.”
In Heat 1 of the S Open class Rothbauer continued his roll of good starts, but after the first lap he pushed just a tad too hard and he paid for it with a spectacular crash. By the time he gathered himself the entire field had passed him, leaving him over a half a lap down. The tenacious rider immediately started a new attack on the field and by the checkered flag he managed to regain the 13th position. Understandably Rothbauer was highly motivated and just a bit angry with himself heading into Heat 2, driving him to once more get off to a near perfect start. After only a couple of laps he once again closes in on the second position, and then moves in front, where he begins opening up a gap between the rest of the field. However, after several more laps another K&N rider, Tom Neuburger closes up the gap. Rothbauer and Neuburger continue battling for every corner, getting the fans up out of their seats. In the end Rothbauer settles for a very impressive second place at the checkered and a 6th overall in the S Open class. “The first heat was just terrible,” commented Rothbauer. “Riding two free practice sessions, two qualifying rounds and four final heats of 20 minutes each on one race day was very, very tough. And a crash costs extra energy that I basically didn’t have. Anyway, I think I made up for that in the second final heat, and it was an awesome fight with Tom Neubuger.” “Great thanks goes out to K&N and all my Sponsors. This all would not be possible without all of you. Last but not least a big cheer goes out to my team and my fans that have made this weekend again a real great event. Now we will keep on testing and improving to be ready for the second round of the International Austrian State Championship at the end of June!” |
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| Related K&N News Articles about Team Honda Austria: Team Honda Austria 3rd Overall in 2012 International Austrian Supermoto Championship ; K&N's Team Honda Austria on Track in International Austrian Supermoto State Championship; Strong 2012 Supermoto State Championship Opener for Team Honda Austria; K&N 2012 Race Update with Supermoto Team Honda Austria; |  |
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