The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team claims the second podium of the season in the Spanish GP with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is third in Sunday’s race and in the Top3 of the World Standing. Franco Morbidelli is twelfth.
The Spanish GP ends on a positive note for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, that proves to be competitive in Sunday’s race too and claims the podium with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is third both at the finish line and in the World Standing. On dry track, Franco Morbidelli recovers some positions and ends in twelfth place.
A complicated start from the front row, forced Di Giannantonio to lose some places in the early stages of the race, but he showed a great rhythm right away, by entering again in the fight for the top places. The rider from Rome kept a good pace throughout all the race, crossing the finish line in third place and claiming his second podium of the season. With this result, Di Giannantonio is third in the World Standing with 71 points.
After his Sprint podium, Morbidelli had a solid race on Sunday, starting from the sixth row. At the difficult Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Franco completed many overtakes, recovering positions throughout the 25 laps of Sunday’s race. The Italian Brazilian rider crossed the finish line in twelfth position and collected some important points. Morbidelli sits now in thirteenth place in the World Standing with 25 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team stays at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto for the Official IRTA Test Day that will take place on Monday. Then, MotoGP will go to Le Mans, where the French GP will take place from 8th to the 10th May.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I am really happy with the level we’re showing. I’m just a bit upset because I made a mistake at the start: the team did a great job during all the weekend and in these months, but this little mistake didn’t allow us to really fight. For sure, it’s a great podium and we must be very happy. We are also in the Top3 of the World Standing and it’s great. But we think we could have done more without that mistake. Of course, when you start to collect such great results, a third place is not enough, but it’s an amazing result, anyway. We’re doing a great job; we just must keep the focus on and the feet on the ground. The season is still very long, but let’s keep working like this.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Today’s race was tougher, but I expected that. Yesterday we secured a podium, but for today’s race we kept working on some changes that didn’t work as we wanted, although they were useful for understanding how to solve the issue of lack of rear grip. I perform better in the final laps of the race because the tyres are so used and the bike becomes more manageable and smoother. We made some steps, but we still need to work on improving the first part of the race. We’re working very well and we proved it yesterday with the podium in the Sprint, but in dry conditions we’re still struggling a bit. Ducati and the team are working to solve this problem; in that sense, tomorrow’s test day will be very full and crucial.”
PABLO NIETO
“The Spanish GP was a crucial weekend, the first European race is always very difficult, and you can understand your value. We proved to be very strong with Di Giannantonio during all the weekend and in every condition, even on wet where we used to struggle. This second podium is a great result to end the race weekend. Yesterday, we claimed a great third place with Franco in a Sprint where we had to be smart. We must still improve, but I am very happy with the steps we made with him. I think we must be very satisfied with the job we’ve done. Now, let’s focus on Monday’s test, another crucial day to keep working on the bike.”
