At Spielberg, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secures the sixth place with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who gets a direct Q2 spot for the first time in Austria. Morbidelli is seventeenth.
Low temperatures and cloudy sky welcomed the MotoGP on Friday at Spielberg, but the sun made the atmosphere warmer in the afternoon: the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team faced every condition with determination, securing a direct Q2 spot with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was sixth. Franco Morbidelli ended the Friday of the Austrian GP in seventeenth place.
Di Giannantonio started his Friday started in a cautious way, finishing FP1 in twelfth place. Fabio improved both his time attack and his pace in Practice, where he gained positions and secured the Top10. With a 1’28”191 as his best laptime, the rider from Rome ended the crucial Practice session in sixth place, claiming his first direct Q2 spot in Austria.
The first day of the weekend started with a sixteenth place in FP1 for Morbidelli. Franco made some steps forward during the afternoon session, improving substantially his laptime. However, his 1’29”191 as his best laptime was not enough to be directly in Q2 and Morbidelli will have to go through Q1 with his seventeenth place.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will be back on track on Saturday for qualifying, which will begin at 10:50 am (local time). The Sprint will follow at 3:00 pm (local time). The Austrian GP will conclude with Sunday’s race, which will start at 2:00 pm (local time).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I am really happy: today was the best day ever for me here in Austria, because I had never secured a direct Q2 spot t Spielberg. It was very important to do a good job here and so it was. The team made an incredible job, the bike is going very well and I felt comfortable. For tomorrow, we must understand what we miss to be there on top. But we’re focusing a lot on ourselves, because this track is tough for us. We will try to make the most of our package to do our best.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was a tough day, today I struggled in braking, which is the area we missed most of the time. In particular, we struggle at Turn 4, so as other riders. We must analyze everything very well and try to do the right things, because on this track the braking is crucial for its layout. The goal is to improve and recover performance in this area tomorrow. The positive thing is that the gap is not much, we can improve and get closer to the riders ahead of us.”
