The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secures its first podium of the season in Sunday’s race with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finishes third. Franco Morbidelli is twelfth.

The Autodromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna continues to win over the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team more and more: once again the team showed great consistency in Sunday’s race, achieving a podium with Fabio Di Giannantonio. The rider from rome finished the Brazilian GP in third place, claiming his first GP podium of the season. Franco Morbidelli delivered a solid comeback in his second home race and finished twelfth.

A brilliant Sunday for Di Giannantonio, who started from pole position in a race that proved to be fiercely contested from the very first corners. Fabio was a key contender in the fight for the podium, showing excellent pace despite the tricky track conditions. The rider from Rome was always among the top riders, and he completed the decisive overtake in the closing stages, securing third place: it’s the first of the season for both himself and the team, and his fifth overall with the Tavullia-based squad. Di Giannantonio now sits fourth in the World Standing with 37 points.

It was a more challenging race for Morbidelli, who had a difficult start from the fifth row. After a tricky opening phase in which he lost a few positions, Franco found his rhythm and managed a strong comeback. The Italian-Brazilian rider finished his second home race in twelfth place, not far from the Top10. Morbidelli is now tenth in the World Standing with 12 points.

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team returns to action this weekend for the United States GP, scheduled to take place from March 27th to 29th. Before flying to Austin, however, the team will attend a special and historic event at The Edge at Hudson Yards in New York on Tuesday, March 24th.

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I’m happy with my race in Brazil, because battling with experienced riders is demanding and very rewarding. At first, my goal today was to win, but my rivals got off to a strong start and the track was very slippery: in these conditions, we lose a lot of front grip, we struggle a lot, and we can’t make the most of our strengths, braking and entry corner. Also, after my crash this morning in the Warm Up, I hurt my shoulder a bit and felt pain in the opening laps of the race. It was tough, but then I found my rhythm and things improved. In these conditions, the final goal was to secure a podium. We had a lot of fun, we came very close, and we achieved a great third place. I’d like to thank the team for their outstanding work, and I also want to thank the Brazilian fans: it was fantastic racing in such a festive atmosphere!”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Unfortunately, the fact that the race was shortened didn’t help us: usually, we are slow at the beginning of the race, but the we can catch our rhythm and we are very quick in the final stages. Today we had eight laps less to make the difference. I’m sure that if we had had all the laps, we could have recovered more positions than the ones I could do in this race. But anyway, it was a great weekend, I could catch up with the Brazilian fans and all my family, it was amazing. The track is fantastic, the tarmac was tricky this weekend, but I’m sure that all the Brazilian fans had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be in the front, but Diggia was on the podium today. It’s the first one in this season and it’s a great result for the team, so it’s positive.”

PABLO NIETO 
“I’m very happy – Brazil is always great, and we had an almost perfect weekend: an excellent result for Diggia, who took pole position, finished second in yesterday’s Sprint, and third in today’s race. He was very strong throughout the entire weekend, he’s working really well, and he feels comfortable with the team and everyone around him. It’s a pity for Franco, with whom we struggled a bit more in his second home race. But we’re already working on how to improve, because I’m convinced he has the potential to fight for the podium. Now it’s time to think about the next race: Austin awaits us, a track that Diggia has always particularly liked. We’re in a good moment.”