On Friday of the Qatar GP, Fabio Di Giannantonio tops the Practice and sets the all-time lap record. Franco Morbidelli is twelfth.
The Qatar GP got off to the best possible start for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which ended Friday in first place with Fabio Di Giannantonio. The rider from Rome dominated the timesheets at the Lusail International Circuit, also setting a new all-time lap record and securing a direct Q2 spot. Franco Morbidelli finished twelfth and will have to go through Q1 by just 75 thousandths.
Di Giannantonio had a good start to the day, proving to be competitive right from FP1 with a Top3. Fabio made a relevant step forward in Practice, showing his speed from the very beginning of the session. The focus was on the time attack, and the strategy paid off as the rider from Rome topped the timesheets halfway through the session, before continuing to improve his pace. Di Giannantonio shone in the closing stages, securing a direct Q2 spot in first place and setting a new all-time lap record of 1’50”406.
Morbidelli started his Qatar GP with a ninth place in FP1. After securing a Top10 in the opening session, Franco improved both his pace and his time attack in Practice, managing to stay among the first ten riders for most of the evening session. However, these steps forward were not enough to secure a Top10 finish in the crucial Practice session, and the Italian-Brazilian rider ended Friday in twelfth place, just 75 thousandths away from direct Q2.
The race weekend at the Lusail International Circuit will take place by night, as usual; so, the schedule is slightly different: the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will be on track on Saturday for the Qualifying, which will take place at 2:40 p.m. (local time, +3 UTC). The Sprint will start at 7 p.m. (local time, +3 UTC), and the Qatar GP will conclude on Sunday with the main race, which will start at 7 p.m. (local time, +3 UTC).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“For sure, I love the Lusail track, but we must not take for granted the fact that we’re fast here. This morning, we had an important gap from the top, but we made some changes in the afternoon and in Practice we found again an amazing feeling which allowed us to be on top. Today we focused on the time attack, because the goal is to have a great Qualifying, since we lacked a bit in this area in the last races. We will work tomorrow on the pace, we proved to be competitive throughout the season, and I’ve always been able to manage the tyres. Tomorrow, the pecking order will be pretty much the same, but overall, I feel good and we can stay in the mix.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was a good day, overall. Unfortunately, I missed Q2 just for 75 thousandths and I’m sorry for that. I lose a lot of time in the last sector because I struggle in the last two corners. Now, we must analyse the information and understand why I am slower in that point. Overall, the feeling is not perfect, and I miss the grip especially in the last part of the track. Tomorrow’s goal is to reduce the gap which didn’t allow us to be in Top10 and to gain Q1 in Qualifying.”
