Challenging Sprint for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team at Spielberg: Fabio Di Giannantonio is eighth, while Franco Morbidelli ends in fourteenth place.

The Saturday of the Austrian GP proves to be an uphill battle for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, with Fabio Di Giannantonio finishing eighth after a good start. Franco Morbidelli arrives to the chequered flag in fourteenth place after starting from the third row.

Di Giannantonio started well from the fifth row and he was in the fight for the Top10 from the beginning. Fabio crossed the finish line in eighth place and he keeps the fifth position in the World Standings with 144 points.

A tough start affected Morbidelli’s Sprint, he started from the third row and he finished the Saturday’s race in fourteenth place. Franco sits in sixth place in the World Standings with 139 points.

The Austrian GP will end tomorrow with the main race, which will start at 2 p.m. (local time CET).

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“This morning I was really happy with the progress because we improved the race pace by a second. I expected a little more from the Q1, we were not able to pass to the Q2. We knew that the Sprint would have been tough, but I did a really good start, maybe my best one in MotoGP. There was a bit of chaos in the first corners and I took advantage of it. I was in a good spot, it’s a pity that I had some vibration on the rear and it was tough just to stay on the bike. Without this problem, we could have fought for the Top5. For sure tomorrow there will be another story, so we will have to find a way to come back through the field and achieve a good result. We have a good bike, let’s try to have a proper start and to get into our pace right from the beginning tomorrow.”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It wasn’t bad, until this morning. We tried something to improve the feeling, in the qualifying I was eighth and the third row was not bad. Unfortunately, in the Sprint I had to cut off the throttle at the start because of a problem that other riders has and that affected me. I tried to recover during the race, maybe I could have been in Top5, but on this track it’s very hard to bounce back. Then, I made a mistake and I lost the opportunity to take points. Let’s see for tomorrow.”