Marcel Schrötter (BMW): Wrinkles of worry despite a surprise gift at Assen

For former World Championship rider Marcel Schrötter, Assen was like meeting up with an old friend. Every racing series the Bavarian had competed in during his career had always included a round at Assen in its calendar. However, the race weekend did not come easily to the BMW rider, and his expression after the races was more serious than beaming with joy.

Having coped better than expected with the knee injury he’d sustained during his World Endurance Championship outing in Japan – an injury he’d brought back with him – two weeks earlier at Oschersleben, he hoped to be in even better form for the fifth race of the season. That wish was certainly set to come true. Starting from the front row, Schrötter was unable to capitalise on his position in either of Sunday’s races, as he struggled to get a feel for the fresh tyres.

Grip and race pace are his main issues

A fourth place in the first race was the modest result, before he once again had to contend with similar problems in the second race. It was only a few laps before the finish that Schrötter managed to pick up the pace and pull away from his closest pursuers. However, his second place was down to a mishap involving his rival Lukas Tulovic and his Ducati, which faltered in the final metres.

“Overall, Assen was a solid and good weekend,” said Schrötter, sounding somewhat more conciliatory with the benefit of hindsight. “I’m not satisfied with the races, though, as I unexpectedly lacked the necessary pace, even though I was always competitive in practice. The two frontrunners often had a small lead, but I would never have thought that, in fourth place, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the leading group.”

Schrötter beschreibt seine Gemütsverfassung

Foto: Eisele

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“It felt as though,” he explained, “I didn’t stand a chance, even though my pace in the closing stages wasn’t actually that bad on either occasion. But in the first half, I couldn’t fully exploit the tyres’ potential and therefore didn’t have the pace. That was frustrating, because I want to be right up front and fight for the top places.”

I want to keep up with the front-runners on my own merit and achieve good results.

Marcel SCHRÖTTER

“Of course I’m pleased with second place in the second race, because the championship is already heading into the penultimate race weekend, where every point counts,” he explains. “From a sporting perspective, however, I’m a little disappointed with our race pace this weekend. So we’ve still got quite a bit of work to do for the two remaining rounds. We’re already planning and doing everything we can. At the Nürburgring, we’ve got another day of testing on Thursday, which comes at exactly the right time for us to try out a few different approaches so that we can be right up there at the front again. Because, as I said: I want to keep up with the front-runners on my own merits and achieve good results.’ At the Nürburgring, Marcel Schrötter will have to perform well if he is to prevent Lukas Tulovic from defending his title early.