The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team ends the San Marino and the Rimini Riviera GP in seventh place with Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Franco Morbidelli is thirteenth.
The San Marino and the Rimini Riviera GP was a complicated but special round for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team: despite the difficulties, Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the finish line in seventh place in his 200th GP and Franco Morbidelli ended the race in thirteenth place in front of his fans.
At Misano, it was a special Sunday for Di Giannantonio, who celebrated his 200th GP in the world championship: a complicated start from the second row prevented him to celebrate. Fabio, who was tenth at the end of the opening lap, started his comeback right away, showing a great determination and gaining positions. The rider from Rome crossed the finish line in seventh place and he is now fourth in the World Standing with 223 points.
It was an emotional Sunday at Misano for Morbidelli, who raced for the last time in MotoGP in front of his fans: Franco started from the third row and managed to stay in the Top10 group from the opening lap. A Long Lap Penalty prevented him to progress and show his potential, so the Italian-Brazilian rider crossed the finish line in thirteenth place. Morbidelli is now sixteenth in the World Standing with 56 points.
The Misano and the Rimini Riviera GP is over after making the best attendance ever on this track with 184,051 spectators; but now the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is going to Red Bull Ring, where the MotoGP Austrian GP will take place next week.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“Today’s goal was to be a little aggressive in the first laps, but there was some chaos at the first corner and I was at the outside after some contacts, so I lost places. I wanted to set my rhythm and recover positions, but the feelings with the front brake were not the best. It’s a pity, because we wanted to perform really well at Misano, but that’s part of the game. This weekend started very well, but we couldn’t materialize the result at the end. Now we focus race by race and we think on the next one, we want to recover the good feelings.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Today in the race, I thought I would struggle more, but the level was better than I expected. It’s a pity about the Long Lap Penalty, which prevented us to fight for the Top7, that would have been nice. Overall, the weekend went more or less as I expected. But it was amazing to see all my friends in the grandstand and, in general, all the Italian fans. I had a chance to chat with some of the fans, and it was really nice. The most special thing about this Misano weekend was the end of the race, with my friends wearing my leathers. That was really nice.”
PABLO NIETO
“We always want to do well at our home race because all the fans are here and they give us extra energy. Overall, it was definitely a slightly more difficult weekend. Today in the race, it was a pity about Diggia’s start. We had the potential to fight for the podium as well. But now we already have to start thinking about Austria, which is coming straight away, and I think we are on the right path. Franky had a good home weekend and a good Qualifying. It’s just a pity about a small mistake that resulted in a Long Lap Penalty during the race, but I think we need to keep moving in this direction. If we continue like this, we are competitive.”
