Extremadura’s rider has led the Kawasaki ZX10R to third place in the first race of the day. Lights and shadows for Russell Gómez, Alejandro Medina and Luca Vitali in Moto2, who have continued working with the Ariane2 while Niko Mäkinen and Melissa Paris have continued to learn the secrets of Aragon´s track, getting points.

Santi Barragan and Stratos Team get another podium at Motorland

Extremadura’s rider has led the Kawasaki ZX10R to third place in the first race of the day. Lights and shadows for Russell Gómez, Alejandro Medina and Luca Vitali in Moto2, who have continued working with the Ariane2 while Niko Mäkinen and Melissa Paris have continued to learn the secrets of Aragon´s track, getting points.

The work of this weekend for the Stratos Team and its riders at the demanding circuit of Motorland Aragon has been rewarded in the first of two Superbike races, with Santi Barragan in the second podium of the season after finishing third. In the second race, Barragan, was penalized because two riders have crashed in front of him and he lost several positions. Then, with a lot of fight, Barragan has soared to fourth place, but a mechanical failure prevented him from finishing in that place and had to settle for ninth place.

In the Moto2 class, the two races have been marked by the bad luck of the three Ariane´s riders. Russell Gomez had to go off track in the first race because a rider crashes in front him, snatching all his options in the race. With his hand injured, Gomez has decided to come back to boxes and rest ahead of the second race, which got a sixth place.

More complicated was the day for Luca Vitali, who has been starring with bad luck. The Italian has crashed in the last lap of the first race, while in the second race his bike hasn’t started and the marshalls have gotten him to pit lane. After the warming lap, he wasn’t aware of the signs to be placed on the grid and he has been sanctioned by Race Direction to make a ride trough penalty that he has not seen. Consequently, Race Direction has shown him the black flag. In both races the Italian was riding in the top10.

Meanwhile Medina, facing his first race in Moto2, has been in points places in both races, although he has crashed in the last corner of the first race and in the second he breaks the Ariane’s fairing, so he had to come back to boxes.

Melissa Paris, has used the two races to learn the secrets of a very technical track like Motorland Aragón is and she has reached the goal of accumulating miles and fit to this class. Paris also finished seventh in the first SSTK600 race and eighth in the second. With this result the American is eighth in the standings.

Niko Mäkinen, rider of NikoRacing Stratos, has used the two races to move forward and approaching positions entitling points. In the first race Mäkinen was 19^th and he improved in the second race with a 18th. Niko has achieved his first seven points in privateers class.

Now Stratos Team heads to Barcelona-Catalunya track, where will be the next round of the FIM CEV Repsol in less than 15 days.

Santi Barragán @Santibarragan51 -SBK- R1: 3rd R2: 9th

«In the first race I’ve not started well, but we know we are strong in the beginning. I stayed behind Rivas, Rodriguez and Silva and it took me almost half of the race to pass them. I knew that I had pace to be higher, but near the end of the race, the rear tire started to lose grip and I ensure the podium.The second race was a disaster, and starts with Morales’s crash in the first corner, he almost take me out of the track and I lost a lot of places. We have been going up but, since warming lap, I have noticed that I lacked grip. I discussed that problem with the technicians and they have made some small changes on the grid, but the problem wasn´t resolved at all. In the race I had a problem with the gears and I went off the track three times, the last one, on the penultimate lap, has made us to lose the fourth place”.

Melissa Paris @meligirl13 -Moto2/SSTK600- R1:7th R2:8th

«In the first race I had bad or good luck, depending how you look at it, because there has been a great crash and I have been close to crash, but I managed to avoid it, although I lost my options in the race. So I had to push hard to make the situation’s been good, because I’ve ride faster than all the weekend, but I hoped to have fight with faster riders and this situation prevented it. At the end of all I’m glad to finish my first race in Spain. In the second race I had a good start and I’m glad to have finally fight with fasters riders than me and I enjoy it. I learned a lot fighting with them and now I know that I need to go faster at Montmeló and fight with other riders”

Russell Gómez @RussellG17 -Moto2- R1: DNF R2: 6th «The first race I made a very good start and I was sixth, but a rider crashed when he was overtaking me and he sent me out of the track, when I returned to the track I was almost last rider of the race and I decided to go to box to rest the injured hand for the second race.In the second I made again a good start, but a couple of riders have taken me out at breaking zone and I lost some places, then I could make a steady pace and I was unable to advance any position and I managed to save the race considering the conditions”.

	Luca Vitali @LucaVit70 -Moto2- R1: DNF R2: DNF
	“The first race we have crashed because I had a problem with the gears. In the second race we were doing a good race because I was with Porto and Vierge and I could have finished fourth, a not so bad result. However, we have seen the black flag and we could not do anything. A lot of bad luck, but I have to thank the support of the sponsors and team. In Barcelona we will have a new opportunity. «

Alejandro Medina @55_alejandro_ Moto2- R1: DNF R2: DNF

«To finish like that the weekend that I debuted in the class was not in our plans and I´m with a lot of impotence. We have made a lot of efforts to recover the collarbone in time and to crash in the last corner of the first race when we were in the points places gets me very angry.In race two I had a problem with the fairing and I had to stop It’s bad luck although I prefer the positive part of the race, we were in the points places. We made a lot of miles racing, which is something important considering that we can´t ride with good weather in the preseason test.I know we are learning, but I think we can be ahead and that we can soon reach the top positions. After today I can only think on Montmelo´s race and to get the best possible result”

	Niko Mäkinen -SBK- R1: 19 R2: 18
	«Today we had a good pace in the race, we learned a lot and we still have to improve to get a bit closer to the top 15. We will continue working to see if, perhaps in Barcelona, we can step forward, improving the set-up of the bike to gets better results”.