Morbidelli brings the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team to fourth place in Saturday’s race, while Di Giannantonio finishes tenth.
The Sprint Race of the Malaysian Grand Prix sees the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secure a Top5 finish with Franco Morbidelli, who crossed the line in fourth place. A more complicated Saturday for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who closes the Top10.
Morbidelli had an excellent qualifying session, taking a front-row start (1:57.159) for the second time this season. Starting from third on the grid, Franco was in the battle for the podium in the early laps before finishing fourth. The #21 rider is seventh in the World Standings with 213 points.
Di Giannantonio had a tougher race: Fabio qualified eighth and started from the fourth row. Despite the challenges, the rider from Rome fought for a Top10 position and crossed the line in tenth place. The #49 rider is currently sixth in the World Standings with 216 points.
The Malaysian Grand Prix will end tomorrow with the main race, which will start at 3:00 p.m. (local time, +7 CET due to the time change in Europe).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“I was expecting something more: we made some changes for the race that allowed us to improve a lot, especially with the rear of the bike. But we’re analyzing the front, which was behaving a bit strangely and I had a lot of front lock. I almost crashed five times, saving it with my elbow. But the pace was good, in the group I was in, I felt faster, and every time I was losing ground, I could recover right away. The level is incredibly high, so it’s normal that even the smallest differences make a big impact on the result. For tomorrow, the goal is to recover as many positions as possible while continuing in this direction.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“I had fun in this Sprint and with these battles. I didn’t get a great start because the grid position was a bit dirty, and I found myself fighting with other riders. It wasn’t an easy battle, but it was a good one. Then one rider crashed, and I managed to create some space between me and the rider behind. Unfortunately, I was too far from the Top3 and couldn’t do much more. Overall, I’m satisfied, and I hope to do even better tomorrow! Some riders were fast today with the medium tyre, so we’ll see how we’ll handle it.”
