The rider of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team almost clinches the podium in Sunday’s race in Brno and he’s fourth. He keeps the third place in the World Standing and gets even closer to the top of the Championship. Morbidelli is thirteenth.
It was a positive Sunday, but with a pinch of bitterness for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which almost clinched the podium with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was fourth in the Monster Energy GP of Czechia. However, his fourth place ensures his third place in the World Championship, and he gets even closer to the top. Franco Morbidelli finished in thirteenth place.
With a good start from the front row, Di Giannantonio could keep the second place at the first corner. However, the hectic opening lap caused him to lose ground on the race leader. Fabio was sixth at the end of the first lap, and he made a great comeback, showing a competitive race pace and proving he can battle for the top places. The rider from Rome was out of the podium for just one tenth, but he secured a crucial fourth place and set the best race lap ever (1’53”122) at the final lap. Di Giannantonio is a main contender both in the race and in the Championship, since he confirms his third place in the World Standing with 157 points, further reducing the gap to the championship leader to 23 points.
Morbidelli made some steps forward in this Czech Sunday: Franco started from the third row and showed consistency, getting into the Top10 fight. The Italian Brazilian rider was one of the race's main protagonists, engaging in intense battles and crossing the finish line in thirteenth place. Now, Morbidelli sits in fourteenth in the World Standing with 43 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is back on track this weekend for the Dutch GP, which will take place at the iconic TT Circuit Assen from 26th to 28th June.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“We must be happy because we did a great weekend and showed consistency. Unfortunately, we finished both races in fourth place, and we aimed for something more. Today, I made a mistake at Turn 3 of the opening lap when I got passed, and from that moment, our race got a bit more complicated. Then, I recovered a bit and throughout the race I had a great pace, but it was too late to be back at the front. For sure, we have many things to learn, and this weekend we learnt a lot. But the positives are that we were fast, we did our maximum. Moreover, today we got some precious points, we are competitive and the championship is still completely open.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was another weekend ended with strange feelings. The race was very tough, but I did my maximum being at the limit all the laps and getting the most of my package as much as I could. I did a better start compared to yesterday, but we still struggle to have the performance I wish for. Moreover, I had no grip, and I was missing corner speed. It’s strange because this year I showed to have a good pace and I got a front row. But I have a team that keeps working non-stop, they are by my side to find solutions. We don’t give up.”
PABLO NIETO
“We leave Brno with some bitterness with Fabio, because the truth is that we almost tasted the podium and we missed very little. Anyway, it was a positive weekend: front row and fourth place in the Sprint despite not choosing the right tyre are a confirmation of that. We conclude the GP keeping the third place in the World Standing and getting closer to the leader; in Assen we want to be back in Top3. With Franco, we must keep working. We see some improvements, as passing to the Q2 and the third row. But we must be able to be consistent in the race. We won’t stop until we do it.”
