In the Japanese GP Sprint, Di Giannantonio is involved in a crash and is forced to retire from the race early. Franco Morbidelli bounces back and crosses the finish line in twelfth place.

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team had a bittersweet Saturday at Motegi: luck was not on Fabio Di Giannantonio’s side, as he was involved in a crash on the opening lap of the Sprint and he was forced to retire from the race. Franco Morbidelli had a solid race, finishing in twelfth place.

After a consistent Qualifying ended in sixth place (1’42”628), Di Giannantonio had a good start from the second row, keeping his position. Unfortunately, Fabio couldn’t show his potential due to a crash he was involved in at Turn 3 on the opening lap, luckily without physical consequences. Di Giannantonio keeps the fifth place in the World Standing with 230 points.

Morbidelli ended his Qualifying just few tenths away from the Q2 in fourteenth place (1’43”136). Franco started from the fifth row and was able to show a good consistency confirming the steps forward and proving that he had a valuable rhythm. The Italian-Brazilian rider bounced back throughout the 12 laps, crossing the Sprint finish line in twelfth place. Morbidelli is sixteenth in the World Standing with 56 points.

The Japanese GP will conclude tomorrow with the main race, which will start at 2:00 p.m. (local time, +9 UTC).

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“Luckily, I am ok, I just had a big hit in the ribs. We worked a lot to try not to consume the tyre too much, we thought we had an opportunity to do well. I made a good start, and I was able to take the first corner very well. From then, I had the chance to build a consistent race, which ended too early, unfortunately. But we don’t give up and we will bounce back tomorrow; I think we have a good potential, and we can do a good race.”

FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“Overall, it was a good day, we could make some steps forward compared to yesterday, and we fixed some things we missed to improve our performance. The Sprint was a bit stressful at the beginning due to the crashes and the things that usually happen in the group. Then, I relaxed and I started to express my potential, which was good. I was able to bounce back and stay with the group ahead of me, overall, it was a smooth race.”