Tom Vialle put in a battling performance on this tricky circuit. The #16 had an excellent third in race one, keeping the leader in sight for the majority of the race, but had to really fight hard in race two after a nasty crash midway through the race. When he remounted, he was off the box, but two passes near the end of the race catapulted him up onto the third step, giving the Honda HRC PETRONAS team even more to cheer.

“I had a bad crash right after the wave mid-moto and lost a lot of time and lost some positions and that made things tough. I had to really work hard for this podium in that second moto and I didn’t know that I had managed it when I crossed the line. Overall, I had a lot of fun overall this weekend, it was a slow track but technical and that’s something I enjoy. Now we have a bit of a break from the GPs and I hope to keep this season going well for when we return.”

“Track was challenging and I had fun on the bike, just that crash, put me back and I had to wake up in that second moto. I felt like I was riding around in second gear, such a slow track and maybe sometimes I got into third gear, small bumps, a bit of everything. It was fun and I enjoyed the weekend.”

On the Saturday, Vialle finished just 0.66 seconds behind Lucas Coenen, narrowly missing out on the victory, but showing once again that the Frenchman is fully capable of challenging on any surface. This race followed on from a historic timed practice session when Ruben Fernandez, Jeffrey Herlings and Vialle went one-two-three to really show the full force of the Honda HRC PETRONAS team.

After a disappointing end to both races in Sardinia, Vialle showed his starting speed once again, challenging right at the front of the field before being forced wide and allowing a rider to come through on the inside. It was a shame because this track is notorious for being difficult to make passes on, and that proved to be the case once again as Vialle couldn’t get around the leader, no matter how hard he pressured. One last dive saw him cross the line just 0.66 seconds behind, but it will still give the Frenchman a lot of confidence he can add to his Swiss success by winning the Trentino GP, held at the picturesque track in Pietramurata.

“Good day on a track that I really enjoy riding. Third in timed practice gave me a good gate-pick and I almost got the holeshot but got forced a bit wide. This allowed a rider through on the inside and I ended up chasing him the entire race, finishing behind him by less than a second. It’s always been a tricky track to make moves on so the aim is to get the holeshot and try and lead from the beginning and make my life a lot easier.”