Hedger claims GP finish despite two falls
Luke Hedger enjoyed an eventful grand prix debut in the Silverstone Moto3 race as he brought his FPW Kalex KTM home for an 18th place finish but only after two unfortunate crashes hindered his race.
The British Supersport regular was handed the opportunity to wildcard by the FPW outift, for whom Hedger won the British Motostar series in 2012
Having competed on 600cc machinery for the past two and a half years, the 19-year old took some time to adapt to the smaller, more nimble Moto3 machine as he tried to limit his on-bike aggression and alter his mid-corner speed.
Despite starting from 36th on the grid, Hedger believed a point-scoring finish was possible on Sunday due to his liking for racing in the rain, a fact underline by the 13th fastest time in morning warm-up. It was, however, on the first lap that he suffered his first collision.
"It actually started off really well. In the dry I obviously wasn't as competitive," he told Crash.net. "When the wet came I could keep the pace of most of the top boys. I got a good start and then went into the complex and it started to get a bit hectic.
"I crashed with a Mahindra. I don't know which team he was from. He went into the side of me and I went into the back of another rider. As I tipped into the left he fancied putting his nose in the way. He was definitely going for a spot that wasn't there. That didn't actually take me out and stayed on. I went on to the grass and because it was raining as soon as I hit it I was down.
"I got to 19th from 31st after I crashed. Through that I was battling with Brad Binder because he crashed. I was battling with [Romana] Fenati because he had crashed as well. Fenati really helped me because we were battling and he towed me along. He was in 18th then passed [Alessandro] Tonucci. As I went to go past Tonucci, he high-sided and I ran into his bike and crashed."
Despite sustaining damage to his throttle handlebar, brake lever and foot pegs, Hedger managed to remount for a second time and complete the 17 laps less than a lap behind eventual winner Danny Kent.
"It was nice to sit behind and see the lines the world championship guys take, how fast they go into corners. I suppose the thing is they can carry much more corner speed in the dry than I can but I was learning as the weekend went on. I didn't want to get to used to a Moto3 because I knew it was a one off. I was just trying to keep aggressive so when I get back on my 600 I won't lose it.
"In some ways it was unlucky, in some ways it wasn't. I was lucky the bike didn't break as much as it did and I was lucky to get back on the second time and finish in 18th. Luck wasn't on my side but in some ways it was."
Although outside the points, Hedger still found the experience rewarding and was thankful to FPW racing for the opportunity, one which he hopes to receive again in the future.
"I've known Aidy [Mason] from FPW for a while because I won the 125 championship for him back in 2012 so it was nice of him to offer me the ride. It was a good experience. I probably won't get to do it again. Well, I hope I will but it might be a long time until I do. It was a real good experience, being in the MotoGP paddock with everyone, close to Marquez and Rossi."
