Productive Friday for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, with both riders in Top10 and directly qualified for the crucial Q2 of the Dutch GP.

The opening day of the Dutch GP was very chaotic for the low temperatures and the red flags, but the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team had some reasons to be satisfied: on the historic Assen track, Fabio Di Giannantonio ended Friday in seventh place, while Franco Morbidelli finished the Practice in ninth position despite a crash.

A positive start to the weekend for Di Giannantonio at Assen, arriving with momentum and confidence after his podium at Mugello. Fabio started the day in fifth place in FP1, ending the Practice in seventh. The #49 rider improved significantly his lap time, battling for the top position in the afternoon session.

Morbidelli made steps forward on Friday as he ended the morning session in thirteenth place, but he refined his lap time in Practice. Despite a crash in the first stages of the session, Franco improved his final position securing the direct Q2 spot with the ninth place at Assen.

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is back on track on Saturday for qualifying, which begins at 10:50 a.m. (local time CET). The Sprint race will follow at 3:00 p.m. (local time). The Dutch Grand Prix will end on Sunday with the main race, that will start at 2 p.m. (local time).

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“This afternoon was a jungle from the start, the Practice was strange, and we saw many crashes, so it was quite scary. For me the day was good, maybe the best one in terms of feeling with the bike since the beginning of the year. We never put all the laps together because of traffic, yellow and red flags, but we did a good job and we’re in a good position for tomorrow. We passed through Q2 already, so the goal for the qualifying is being in the first two rows.”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was quite a peculiar day, for sure the front medium tyre was not suitable for these conditions and many riders crashed. I crashed too, but I’m ok, even if the bike is not. That was the bike we wanted to use today in time attack, but we couldn’t use it. For tomorrow I am quite confident because, after the crash, we worked well with the medium tyre, which might be the one we use in the race. If we further improve the setup and try all the combinations we want, we can take another step forward.”