The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team finished second in Sunday’s race at Phillip Island with Fabio Di Giannantonio. Franco Morbidelli ended in fifteenth place.
The Australian Grand Prix has a special taste for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who claimed second place after a brilliant comeback, securing his third podium of the season with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. Franco Morbidelli had a more challenging race and he finished fifteenth on Sunday.
Starting from the fourth row, Di Giannantonio got off to a strong start, immediately joining the battle at the front. Fabio gained nine positions over the course of the 27-lap race, crossing the finish line in second place. The rider from Rome secured his third Sunday podium of the season (after two third-place finishes in Austin and Mugello – in addition to four Sprint podiums). The #49 moves up to sixth in the World Standings with 206 points.
It was a tough Sunday for Morbidelli, who fought with determination despite the difficulties. Franco recovered some positions to cross the line in fifteenth place, earning one point. The #21 currently sits seventh in the World Standings with 208 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will be back on track next week for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the final round of the overseas, which will take place from October 24th to 26th before returning to Europe.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I’m super happy, because we knew that yesterday’s qualifying ruined a little bit our chances to fight for the podium, so we really had to do a lot of work to make it happen. I’m happy because we did it, we must not take for granted to recover nine places and finish on the podium in second position. I am very proud of my team; they gave me an amazing bike to fight this weekend. We did a great job, moreover I’m sick since last night, so it makes the work double and more special. The Top5 in the Championship is possible, but we don’t have pressure. We knew from the start of the season that our potential was high, but we had some ups and downs, so let’s keep the feet on the ground, I just want to give the maximum every day.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It has been a very difficult weekend, I didn’t have a good feeling on the bike, and I couldn’t express my pace. We struggled a lot all the weekend long, we’ve been trying different things on the bike to improve the feeling, but nothing really seemed to work. In the race I tried to catch up in the beginning, but I overcooked the tyres to recover a little bit. After twelve laps, I pretty much had nothing, and I couldn’t give nothing because the tyres were over. Now, we focus on the next race in Malaysia, where the goal is to be competitive again and fight in the way we know.”
PABLO NIETO - TEAM MANAGER
“It has been a very positive weekend with Fabio, I think from Friday to Sunday we were really fast. We missed being on the podium on a Sunday race, so today’s result motivates us a lot for the last races of this season. I want to congratulate him and all the team for the amazing job they’ve done. We struggled a bit more with Franco, but I’m convinced that in Malaysia he will be competitive again.”
