On Friday of the Australian GP, Fabio Di Giannantonio ends Practice in tenth place and secures a direct Q2 spot. Franco Morbidelli is seventeenth.
The Australian GP kicks off the last part of the Overseas and MotoGP was welcomed for its last time at Phillip Island with dry conditions in the usual Friday sessions. With an uncertain forecast for the weekend, the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secured a direct Q2 spot with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was tenth in Practice. Franco Morbidelli struggled more and will go through Q1 in seventeenth.
Di Giannantonio had a cautious start to the day, closing FP1 in tenth place on one of the tracks he loves the most. In Practice, some difficulties prevented Fabio to express his potential, but both the rider and the team worked hard to make steps forward. Di Giannantonio improved his best lap time, ending his afternoon session in 1’27”531. This lap time allowed him to secure a direct Q2 spot with the tenth place.
It was a more complicated Friday for Morbidelli, who continued to carry on the work with his team to keep improving. However, Phillip Island’s peculiarity and its difficulties didn’t make things easy for Franco. The Italian Brazilian rider improved significantly his lap time in Practice, and he could get closer to the Q2 goal. Morbidelli is seventeenth and will have to go through Q1 just by four tenths.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will be back on track on Saturday for qualifying, which will begin at 10:50 am (local time, +11 UTC). The Sprint will follow at 3:00 pm (local time, +11 UTC). The Australian GP will conclude with Sunday’s race, which will start at 2:00 pm (local time, +11 UTC).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I am partially satisfied with today’s performance: we worked a lot on the bike, the first idea was to use last year setup, but we realized it was too on the limit now. It was a pity for the end of the session, because we had a problem and we struggled to have a linear start to the weekend just like the start of the season. Unfortunately, this problem prevented us to try things and push as we wanted to; we could not make a time attack. Anyway, the day didn’t end in a bad way, because we are in Top10 and secured a direct Q2 spot, so this is okay. For tomorrow, we will work and understand our potential for the Qualifying, since the rain is expected. It’s a pity in the next days the sun won’t be there, it’s not ideal racing here in wet conditions, but when it’s sunny it’s amazing. The conditions will be the same for everyone, so we will be ready.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Today it was tough, I still struggle in some areas. We know that Phillip Island is a very peculiar track and it can be very hard if you don’t have your best feeling with the bike. So, today we tried many things to try to improve the areas in which I still struggle. We worked to make the bike more manageable ad I wish and we improved. Unfortunately, it was not enough to be directly in Q2 just for four tenths. Tomorrow is another day and the rain is expected, so let’s look at the positives: we must go through Q1, so I will have one session more on track and it will be a good chance to pass to Q2 in particular conditions. We already have ideas in mind for every condition, so we are ready.”
