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Category: Moto GP
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With the disappointment of Montmeló behind, here comes a fresh opportunity for Team Gresini MotoGP to get into the long summer break with a positive momentum. Sachsenring and Assen are the next venues on the calendar, and both events are going to be crucial for Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
The #23, who is still third in the championship standings despite the two DNFs at Mugello and in Catalunya, is eager to bounce back at to circuits where he has been on the podium during his Moto3 times (2015-2016 at Sachsenring and 2018 in Assen).
The #49 is looking forward to continuing the positive trend shown in the latest outings at two circuits that have been kind to him in the pest (he was fourth in Germany last year in the Moto2 category, while he was on the podium at Assen in his Moto3 debut season in 2016).
History time – Team Gresini MotoGP was six times on the podium at the two tracks between 2003 and 2006, including two wins by Sete Gibernau and four second-place finishes (two by Marco Melandri).
#23 ENEA BASTIANINI (3rd in the championship standings with 94 points)
“Last year in Germany I wasn’t as competitive ad I’d hoped. We’re coming from a disappointing race, so we are eager to improve and to recover that lost feeling with the front-end of the bike that would allow us to race at the front. Sachsenring is not among my favourite tracks, but if we manage to set the bike up right, we can have fun. Assen is clearly among my favourite tracks, as it is both difficult and technical at the same time: last year I struggled there, but this year I’m better prepared. It will be a very challenging trip.”
#49 FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO (22nd in the championship standings with 8 points)
“The goal for the next two races stays the same: we need to make further steps forward compared to the last outing: I like Sachsenring a lot and I was always quick there. It’s an anti-clockwise track and I only know how to turn left (he laughs), so it’s an advantage. I also like Assen, I always had a good feeling there both in Moto3 and Moto2, so I see no reason why we cannot continue on the positive direction we’ve taken.”
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THE FASTEST ANYONE HAS EVER BEEN ON A MOTORCYCLE ON THE SPANISH CIRCUIT
MAVERICK VIÑALES IS FIRST IN Q1 AND WILL START FROM THE THIRD ROW
THIS CONFIRMS APRILIA RACING'S GRAND FORM ON QUALIFYING DAY AS WELL
After dominating practice on Friday, Aprilia Racing confirms the outstanding performance on qualifying day as well. Aleix Espargaró broke the Spanish track record twice to take the second pole position of this year.
With this performance, Aleix confirmed the excellent impressions he had been giving from the outset of the weekend, riding his RS-GP admirably and taking full advantage of its performance in the difficult low-grip conditions of the Catalunya track. After setting the new track record in the last practice session (obviously finishing it in first place), he managed to do even better in qualifying, stopping the clock at a time of 1’38.742 for the new track record and the fourth pole position of his career.
Yet again, Q2 seemed to be cursed for Maverick Viñales, knocked out of the top ten by just 10 thousandths of a second. However, this time Maverick redeemed himself straight away, dominating the first qualifying session and going through to Q2 where he finished with a spot on the third row and a time of 1’39.397.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
1st - 1'38.742
"What qualifiers! It’s nice to be ahead of the rest here in Barcelona, but it was anything but easy. The bike moved around a lot, the conditions were critical, and I really had to give one hundred percent. I also have to thank Maverick because thanks to his slipstream on the straight, I gained a few fundamental metres. Overall, we worked well, both on the flying lap and in terms of preparing for the race. Now all that’s left is to start well, stay focused and see who has conserved their tyres the best in the finale."
MAVERICK VIÑALES
8th - 1'39.397
"We did a good job, even if this performance should come easier for us. In any case, I’m happy to be starting from the third row. It was important for us to improve in qualifying and today we took a good step forward. It’s going to be a long race but I feel good. I’ll be aiming to be aggressive in the early laps and then conserve the tyres a bit for the finale."
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#CatalanGP qualifying. Was Mugello’s pole position a coincidence? Not really. Coincidences do not really exist in MotoGP, and Fabio Di Giannantonio proved it by showing some scintillating form on the single-lap again as he qualified fifth for tomorrow’s Catalan GP race – and was only 0.357secs shy from Espargaró’s pole position.
This is a true display of power for the rider #49, who has always been better known for the race comebacks than the qualifying performances. The wind is changing, however, and the Rome-born rider will sleep tight tonight knowing he will line up close to the front of the grid.
Enea Bastianini, on the other hand, had a much more challenging Saturday, as he narrowly missed on Q2 first in FP3 and then in Q1 – as he was only 0.023secs shy of making it through. With a good race pace on his side, however, the Italian will try to get a good start and be aggressive early on – for what hopefully be another successful comeback.
5th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’39.099s)
“Even though we don’t have to prove anything to anybody, it was important to confirm our growth and what better way to do so than by putting together another good qualifying such as today. We’re working well, changing very little on the bike and we can do well tomorrow. Surely we still need to improve our pace a bit more, especially in the second half of the race. The warm up will give us some reassurance also on tyre selection.”
14th - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’39.246s)
“Too bad, because we had another type of result in mind. It’s a shame also for the last lap because I found a rider ahead of me at turn 3 who was roaming around, and I couldn’t improve. We should have made it into Q2 already from this morning, but it didn’t happen. The pace is good, the race is long so we can recover many positions. We will surely need a strong start and some attack-mode early on.”
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APRILIA RACING, A BETTER START WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO FIND
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ AND MAVERICK VIÑALES FIRST AND SECOND RESPECTIVELY ON THE FIRST DAY IN BARCELONA
The GP of Catalunya weekend kicked off in the best possible way for Aprilia Racing with their riders in first and second place in the standings after the first two practice sessions.
On a track characterised, as always, by poor grip, both Aleix and Maverick dedicated a lot of time in the two sessions preparing for the race, especially in terms of tyre management, one of the factors that could prove to be decisive in the race.
In any case, both demonstrated great speed, resulting in the two best times of the day and already clear in the morning session, where Maverick finished with the second best time and Aleix with the fourth best. The two did even better in the faster second session, occupying the first two spots and also demonstrating an outstanding race pace.
ALEIX ESPARGARÓ
1st - 1'39.402
"It’s always important to start well and to find the right feeling with the bike and with the track. Obviously it’s only Friday, but Maverick and I were both competitive and that renders merit to the team’s hard work. On this track grip is really low, so tyre choice and how to manage them to the end of the race are fundamental issues. Now we’ll have to carefully analyse the spin levels and the speed on corners for each different tyre in order to make the right choices and set up the best strategy."
MAVERICK VIÑALES
2nd - 1'39.705
"I am very, very happy and not just because of the fast lap. On this track, the true difference will be made by knowing how to manage the tyres and from this point of view, we’ve done a good job. I’m convinced that tomorrow in FP3 the times will drop even lower. When you put the new tyre on here, it almost seems like you’re riding a different bike! In any case, we’ll keep moving forward. We’re on the right track and it would be fantastic to take that last step right here, on my home track and with my fan club trackside cheering me on."
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#CatalanGP libere. Because of the location and time of the year, the eighth round of the season at Montmeló is once again characterised by scorching temperatures (27ºC), which were partially mitigated by a light breeze. The first day was marked by uncertainty and very levelled performance, with 15 riders covered by only one second.
Enea Bastianini’s Catalan Grand Prix started on the right foot as he set the third-quickest time (1’39.890secs) and was the best positioned Ducati rider in the timesheets, despite having margin to improve both in the time attack and with regards to the race pace.
Fabio Di Giannantonio also did a good job as he was 0.944secs away from the top and only four tenths in arrears from his teammate. Tomorrow, as usual, the FP3 session will be crucial for a direct access to Q2, while Free Practice 4 will be extremely important for tyre selection ahead of the race.
3rd - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’39.890)
“I’m happy with today: we started off well already this morning, even though all Ducati riders have struggled a little bit more than expected. We did very well in FP2, though. We still have to improve a bit in some areas of the circuit and with regards to race pace, but I must be happy with this Friday. We tried both the medium and the rear tyre options and I’m still not sure what I’ll choose for the race: I felt good with the medium one in FP1, while I was expecting a bit more from the hard tyre. We will have to make a good evaluation.”
13th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’40.346)
“I’m happy, because we did very little modification and when that happens it means that things are going well. I have a good feeling and in the afternoon we only used one tyre because the heat wouldn’t have allowed us to set a good time anyway. I also tried the hard tyre, but we will have a clearer idea in FP4. Right now we’re working on making it into Q2 directly, which is a realistic goal.”
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