Fabio Di Giannantonio ends the Sprint of Portuguese Grand Prix in fifth place, while Franco Morbidelli is fifteenth.

It was an intense Saturday in Portimao for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which secured a Top 5 finish in the Sprint thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s fifth place. Franco Morbidelli had a tough race and crossed the line in fifteenth position.

After a qualifying session affected by unstable weather, in which he took ninth place, Di Giannantonio gained positions during the Sprint, showing a strong pace. Following a fierce battle with Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio crossed the finish line in fifth place. The #49 rider is now back in sixth position in the World Standings with 231 points.

Morbidelli couldn’t make it into Q2 and had to settle for a spot on the fifth row. Despite losing a few positions in the opening laps, Franco improved his feeling as the race went on and finished in fifteenth place. The #21 currently sits seventh in the World Standings with 227 points.

The Portuguese Grand Prix will end tomorrow with the main race, which will start at 1:00 p.m. (local time, -1 CET).

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“We made a change this morning, but the unstable weather conditions only allowed us to test it during qualifying. We weren’t satisfied, so we went back to the previous setup for the Sprint, as yesterday’s solution gave us a better bike. We managed to get a good start, I had a solid pace, and I was able to close the gap to the top group, although a bit too late since I lost quite a lot of time in the battles during the Sprint. For tomorrow, we’ll try again and aim to get even closer. In the long race we’ll have more opportunities. Tyre choice will be crucial: the soft is an option, but we’ll see if it’s possible to make it last until the end.”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“With this morning’s weather conditions, we lost a bit of useful time, but the positive thing is that I’ve regained the feeling with the wet tyres and I’m fast in those conditions. I even topped the timesheets at one point. When the track dried up, things got more difficult, but many times we’ve managed to turn the situation around, so we’ll keep working. That’s what we’re doing already and what we’ll continue to do until the end of the weekend: we don’t have grip, so tomorrow’s goal is to find it again. We have some solutions to try, so hopefully we can improve.”