VR46 in difficulty
More difficult start than expected for Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio at the Catalunya GP which takes place this weekend at Montmeló. Between crashes and yellow flags at the end of the session, the riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team are struggling to catch the pace of the leading group and will be forced into Q1 tomorrow (10.50 am ed.).
Step forward between the two rounds, but 15th overall time and eight tenths gap from the Top riders (A. Espargaro, 1’38.562 ed.) for Bezzecchi who set a best lap time of 1’39.382. Instead, Di Giannantonio was forced to the box in the last run (last 10 minutes of Practice) due to a double fall in Practice, thus failing to improve on his 1’39.479, a time which was worth 17th place.
The words of the pilots
Marco Bezzecchi: “I was a bit surprised, I struggle a lot when braking, especially in the straight phase. I can’t stop the bike well and then I have some problems when cornering. It’s a feeling that I already had at the beginning of the year, then in the last few races, we had made a good step forward, but here, with this type of grip conditions, I felt it again. We need to work on electronics and driving to find a good balance and be able to close the gap ahead of the race“.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “We struggled, especially this afternoon. I push a lot, but the bike is nervous when exiting corners, too reactive. I have no traction, I’m very incisive when entering corners and I often drive at the limit. It’s a shame about the two crashes, I don’t know if I would have been able to reach the Top 10, but I certainly would have tried to make the most of the last 10 minutes of the session. Tomorrow will be a crucial day, the Sprint data on tire management will be the key for Sunday’s GP. The goal is to do a good qualifying and get close“.
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