On the Sunday of the Catalan Grand Prix, both Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli were forced to retire due to crashes.
The Catalan Grand Prix ended on a sour note for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, with both riders crashing out of the Sunday race, fortunately without any physical consequences. Fabio Di Giannantonio went down in the early stages, Franco Morbidelli crashed while attempting a comeback.
Starting fourth on the grid, Morbidelli had a difficult launch from the second row, and a Long Lap Penalty affected his race. Franco tried to recover, showing a strong pace, but a crash at Turn 10 with four laps to go stopped him from rejoining the leading group. The #21 rider remains sixth in the World Standings with 161 points.
Di Giannantonio, who lined up in sixth position, had a complicated start too. Fabio crashed on the first lap but rejoined the race with great determination. However, his Sunday ended early as he returned to the pits. The #49 rider keeps the seventh place in the World Standings, with the same amount of points as his teammate.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will be back on track next weekend for the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix. It will be the team’s home race, taking place from September 12th to 14th at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“Today I had a slow start even though I did the same things as yesterday, so I lost a few positions in the first corners. Then there was a chain reaction from a contact in front of me. I had to brake to avoid hitting the rider in front, and without the right weight on the front, I crashed. Luckily, I’m okay, it was a slow-speed crash. We’ve been having a bit of bad luck the past few Sundays, so I hope to have a smooth weekend in Misano, where we’ll try to make a turnaround.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was a very difficult weekend. I had a complicated start, but the feeling with the bike was good, I was coming back strong and riding very fast, quicker than the group of riders I was fighting with. But at Turn 10, I lost the front and I went down. The positive thing is that we showed a good pace this weekend, and we did a great job overall. That should give us confidence heading into Misano, where we hope to have a good weekend.”
PABLO NIETO - TEAM MANAGER
“I believe that in any race weekend, we must always find the positives, and one of them is that we have two fast riders. That’s very important. We were on the second row of the grid, and yesterday we claimed the podium in the Sprint with Diggia. Today, Fabio crashed in the early stages, and Franky had a Long Lap Penalty. When you have that kind of penalty, the race is almost lost. Unfortunately, that’s racing, and we saw how crucial the first laps are. Now Misano is coming up, it’s the team’s home race, and it will be crucial to perform well there.”
