The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team kicks off the Japanese GP with a direct Q2 spot thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s sixth place. Franco Morbidelli is fourteenth.
The MotoGP Overseas kicked off in a challenging way, with the rain that made FP1 tricky at Motegi. The track conditions improved during Practice, and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secured a direct Q2 spot thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s sixth place. Franco Morbidelli ended his Friday in fourteenth place.
Di Giannantonio completed few laps in FP1, as he decided not to take many risks because of the tricky track conditions, and he was ninth. In the crucial Practice, the track was dry and the rider from Rome could improve considerably his lap time. Despite a difficult day, Di Giannantonio was able to secure another direct Q2 by ending his Motegi Friday in sixth place with a best lap time in 1’43”197.
Morbidelli decided to be more cautious in FP1 too, finishing the session in twelfth place. Franco showed good steps forward in Practice, where he improved his best lap time getting closer to the Top10. However, his 1’43”527 was not enough to make into Q2, missing it for just 142 thousandths. Morbidelli will have to go through Q1 with the fourteenth 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, +9 UTC). The Sprint will follow at 3:00 pm (local time, +9 UTC). The Japanese GP will conclude with Sunday’s race, which will start at 2:00 pm (local time, +9 UTC).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“Today it was a positive day thanks to our time attack: this morning, we didn’t have the perfect feeling, so we made a change on the setup for the afternoon. We took a bit more time to take the rhythm and improve the bike, but we did it. In our last run during Practice, I completed a good lap with soft tyre and I made into Q2. It wasn’t easy because I made a couple of mistakes and I found a yellow flag. But luckily, the feeling was back and I could be able to do a good lap. Now, we must stay focused and keep improving for tomorrow, Qualifying will be important and we will have to start as further as possible.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Today I missed the Q2 just for less than one tenth, so I’m a bit sad for that. We showed a good speed, especially with medium tyres. I was confident that I could have made into Q2 with soft tyres, but we couldn’t improve the small margin that we needed. Now, we work deeply to fix the areas we still struggle a bit. Luckily, both my team and Ducati are helping me a lot, and we worked very well together to try to be back in the fight. So, we try to see if tomorrow our trend is different.”
