August 2021 - Esponsorama

29 August, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy finished the Monster Energy British Grand Prix after a spectacular race for the team, where Antonelli crossed the finish line 2nd and Carlos Tatay 10th.

Niccolò Antonelli, who started from 5th position, moved up to 2nd in the early stages of the race. The Italian rider was able to impose a great pace together with Romano Fenati, and both were able to go away from the rest of the group. In the end, Antonelli scored 20 valuable points, his second podium of the season after the Doha Grand Prix.

Carlos Tatay added six more points. The Valencian rider was fighting for 10th place throughout the race in a large group of nine riders. In the last laps, Tatay gave some extra pace, getting a few tenths of advantage that allowed him to take a well-deserved 10th position.

After a very positive weekend for the team, the Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and the Avintia VR46 Academy will head to MotorLand Aragón, where the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragón will be held in two weeks’ time.

Carlos Tatay | P10

“It was a positive weekend because I finally got back on the bike and enjoyed it again. After the injury we suffered a lot, but step by step we worked and we managed to have a positive weekend overall. In the race I felt I had the pace to be in the first group, but a mistake in the first laps prevented me from being in that fight. Now it’s time to improve our weak points and continue our progress in Aragón.”

Niccolò Antonelli | P2

“I am very happy because it was an amazing podium. I’m happy, we did a great job with the team all weekend and we deserve this second position.”

29 August, 2021

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini completed a good race at Silverstone. Both crossed the finish line in the points, with the Avintia Esponsorama rider in 12th position and the Sky VR46 Avintia rider 15th.

Enea Bastianini made a great comeback to score 4 points. The Italian was fighting to stay in the points throughout the race, but during the last five laps, he was able to impose a higher pace than his rivals, to recover several positions and finish 12th.

Luca Marini crossed the finish line 15th and, for the third time in a row, was able to finish in the points zone.

In two weeks, the MotoGP World Championship will be back at MotorLand Aragón for the 13th round of the calendar, the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragón.

Enea Bastianini | P12

“I’m happy because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy race for me after the two heavy crashes we had, as I wasn’t 100%. I had a bad start, so I tried to be conservative at the beginning. In the middle of the race, I started to have a good pace, which allowed me to recover some positions. Overall I’m happy and we’ll go for more in Aragón.”

Luca Marini | P15

“Obviously I can’t be happy with today’s position, I had a great pace and could have challenged for the top-10. I managed the rear well and I was hoping to have a bit more in the last few laps. I struggle to overtake on the straight, I can’t get close enough to the guys in front to overtake under braking and I often have to go long. This is an area we need to work on at Aragón and Misano to be strong under braking, because when you start from the middle of the grid it is difficult to defend yourself in the first few laps. In the end I fought with Bagnaia and I preferred not to attack because it’s important to help with the other Ducati riders for the championship and at this moment a point for him can make the difference.”

28 August, 2021

The Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy completed the qualifying session for the Monster Energy British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit.

In his comeback from injury, Niccolò Antonelli achieved a superb 5th position for tomorrow’s race with a time of 2:11.715. The Italian rider, who after the free practices got the direct access to Q2, was very competitive from the start of the weekend and confirmed his great form in qualifying.

For his part, Carlos Tatay has taken a big step forward. The Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 rider made it through Q1, where he finished among the four fastest riders. In Q2, Tatay set the 14th fastest time of the session, with a time of 2:12.927.

Tomorrow at 12:20 (CET), the Monster Energy British Grand Prix Moto3 race will start, where Antonelli and Tatay will fight for a good result for the team.

Carlos Tatay | 2'12.927 | P14

“It was a positive day. We could go from Q1 to Q2, overcoming the problems we had during FP3. It wasn’t my best Q2, but we are ready to fight in a race that I think will be very fast. We will have to make a good start, get a good position and keep a good pace.”

Niccolò Antonelli | 2'11.715 | P5

“Today was a good day. Yesterday I had a lot more pain, but the weekend is going well and we can’t complain. I don’t know what to expect for the race, as there are moments when I feel quite a lot of pain, so we will give it our best.”

28 August, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia completed a good qualifying session at Silverstone despite not going through to Q2.

Enea Bastianini will start tomorrow’s race 13th. During Q1, when he was in first position, he suffered a crash that did not allow him to fight for the best time in the last moments of the session. In the end, he was overtaken by two rivals and only 54 thousandths of a second didn’t allow him to get into Q2.

Luca Marini finished 14th, just behind Bastianini. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider showed an evolution compared to the free practice sessions and completed a good qualifying session, very close to qualify for Q2.

Tomorrow at 14:00 (CET), the Monster Energy British Grand Prix premier class race will start, where Bastianini and Marini will have a good opportunity to continue scoring important points for the team.

Enea Bastianini | 1'59.553 | P13

“Today I tried, I was going to the maximum and we crashed. Anyway, we have a great pace. In FP4 I felt good on used tires and I’m very happy with the work we’ve done with the team, because we’ve improved every lap. The Ducati has strong points on this track, so tomorrow we will give our maximum from the start to get a good result.”

Luca Marini | 1'59.764 | P14

“I’m happy with qualifying, we all went very fast and 14th place is a good result on this track. In FP4 we had problems and I wasn’t satisfied, as I had no grip on the medium tire and I couldn’t keep the pace I wanted. The tire choice for tomorrow will be crucial, now we will analyse the data and try to understand what will be the right choice. The grid position is good.”

28 August, 2021

The Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy completed the first two free practice sessions of the Monster Energy British Grand Prix, with both riders in provisional Q2 positions.

Niccolò Antonelli finished the first day 3rd in the combined free practice times with a time of 2:11.533. The Italian, who returned to competition after his hand injury, was fast from the first free practice and finished Friday with a good feeling.

Carlos Tatay, in his first time at Silverstone, adapted quickly to the British track. The Spanish rider was 14th in the combined free practice times with a best time of 2:12.286.

Tomorrow at 10:00 (GMT +2 time zone), the third free practice will start, before the Monster Energy Grand Prix qualifying.

Carlos Tatay

“I’m happy with the first day at Silverstone, it’s a circuit I didn’t ride before and I liked it a lot. I had a good feeling throughout the day, we worked well and we know where we need to improve for tomorrow. We will continue to work hard and be focused for the race.”

Niccolò Antonelli

“I’m happy because until yesterday I didn’t know if I would be able to go out on track today and now I’m third in the combined free practice times, which is something I didn’t expect. However, we have to keep our focused because I still have a broken hand and the rest of the weekend is going to be diffcult, so we will take it step by step.”

28 August, 2021

The Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia riders took part in the first two free practice sessions of the Monster Energy British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Friday.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini finished the day in 12th and 17th position respectively in the combined free practice times. Bastianini set a best time of 2:00.548, while Marini stopped the clock at 2:01.058.

Both riders completed a good day of adaptation to the track, as it was the first time they had ridden a MotoGP bike at Silverstone.

Tomorrow at 10:55 (GMT +2), the third free practice will start, where Bastianini and Marini will fight for a position that will allow them to go directly to Q2.

Enea Bastianini

“It was a very cold day and not the best conditions. This morning we started off on the right foot and managed to put in some good laps. In the afternoon, on the hard rear tire, I didn’t feel quite right, so we focused on finding a good rhythm on the medium tire. We did some tests on the rear to try to get the bike to turn a bit better and with the soft tire I felt better than usually. I think we can take advantage of the strengths of the Ducati, we are ready for tomorrow and we will fight for the top-10.”

Luca Marini

“It was a very cold Friday with very difficult track conditions. Due to the cold, I had very little grip during FP1 and I had some problems. In FP2 I started better and with the medium tire I felt good. It was a pity about the two time attacks, because we found a lot of traffic and I couldn’t use my full potential. The feeling is good and the Top-10 is not far away. We still have to improve in some aspects to fight for the direct access to Q2 in FP3 tomorrow.”

26 August, 2021

Two years later, the MotoGP World Championship returns to the legendary Silverstone circuit for the 12th round of the calendar, the Monster Energy British Grand Prix.

Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia arrive to the United Kingdom after a good weekend in Austria. Enea Bastianini, could not get a deserved reward after completing a very solid Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Luca Marini crossed the finish line in 5th, his best ever result in the premier class.

This weekend at Silverstone, both riders will have the opportunity to continue getting important points for the team.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini will start the first free practice of the Monster Energy British Grand Prix on Friday at 10:55 (Spanish time).

Enea Bastianini

“Unfortunately in Austria we had a technical problem that didn’t allow us to fight for the top-10. Silverstone is a track I really like and unfortunately it’s been two years since I’ve raced here, so it will be like a new circuit. It’s possibly not the best track for Ducati, but it’s good for me, so I’m feeling strong for the weekend.”

Luca Marini

“Silverstone is a tricky and a complete track. I don’t know how our Ducati will adapt there, so we have no data to start with. It’s going to be more difficult than Austria, but we’ve had two good weekends in a row, so that will be an extra motivation to do a good job. The weather will be uncertain, but we have shown that we are fast even in all kinds of conditions.”

26 August, 2021

The Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 riders will compete this weekend in the 12th round of the season at the Silverstone circuit, the Monster Energy British Grand Prix. Two years later, the competition will return to the legendary British track.

Niccolò Antonelli will return to competition after the injury he suffered during the Styrian Grand Prix, which forced him to miss the last two races. The Italian rider has been declared ‘fit’ at the medical check and will be able to take part in the British Grand Prix this weekend.

Carlos Tatay arrives at Silverstone, a new circuit for him. The Valencian rider will continue to work on the recovery process of his right ankle. Despite the severe pain, Tatay crossed the finish line 16th in Austria after a very complete weekend.

The Monster Energy British Grand Prix action will start on Friday at 10:00 (Spanish time) with the first free practice session.

Carlos Tatay

“It’s a new circuit for me and I’m really looking forward to it after the bittersweet taste of the last races with the ankle injury. I want to feel better with myself, enjoy it as much as possible, give the 100% from the start and have a good weekend”.

Niccolò Antonelli

“I’m happy to be at Silverstone because it wasn’t a sure thing after the injury in Austria, so I’m happy to be out on track tomorrow. I don’t know what to expect because it will be a difficult weekend, but we have to think about Sunday, so we will take it step by step.”

15 August, 2021

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini completed the race of the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, where the Avintia Esponsorama rider had to retire and the Sky VR46 Avintia rider crossed the finish line in 5th position.

Rain was the main protagonist of Sunday’s race. Although the race was declared dry, from the first lap the stewards showed the white flag, indicating to the riders that they could enter the pit lane to make the bike change. During the race, there were moments when the rain came very lightly, but with 5 laps to go, it came with a lot of intensity.

Unfortunately, Enea Bastianini had to retire due to technical problems. On the sixth lap, the fairing of his bike came off and he was unable to finish the race.

Luca Marini crossed the finish line in an impressive 5th position.When the rain made its appearance with 5 laps to go, Marini decided to not change his bike, as the leading riders did. Finally, after a tense last few laps, he managed to score 11 valuable points.

After a frenetic Sunday at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, MotoGP will travel to Silverstone in two weeks’ time for the Monster Energy British Grand Prix.

Enea Bastianini | DNF

“Unfortunately the bike fairing broke and I don’t know why. It’s frustrating because we were competitive and I think we could have had a good result, because yesterday in FP4 I had a very consistent pace. I hope that in the next races we will have more luck. I’m sure that sooner or later, luck will be on our side and we can get the results we deserve.”

Luca Marini | P5

“I would say we were close of making history. It was a shame at the end, but I’m happy. It was a weekend where we worked well from the first free practice, the first half of the race in the dry I was fast, I felt good. It was difficult to get away from my rivals because I was losing a bit of distance on the straights. Then, in the rain, I kept my eyes open and started to calculate how much I was going to lose with the bike change and in the end the decision to stay out was the right one. On the last lap it was raining a lot, so I tried to defend myself from the guys on rain tyres and I was close to the podium. I’m a bit disappointed, but satisfied because I was able to keep my nerve and make the right decision at a key moment.”

15 August, 2021

André Pires and Xavi Cardelús have finished the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, where the Portuguese rider was 16th and the Andorran 18th after a crash.

Cardelús, who started the race in 6th position, was doing a great performance fighting for the front positions. But, on the penultimate lap, he lost control of his Energica Ego Corsa and was unable to avoid a crash that made him lose any chance of a good result. In the end, he crossed the finish line 18th.

André Pires was only half a second away from finishing in the points. The Portuguese rider, who finished 18th in the E-Pole, maintained a good pace throughout the laps, but in a race of only 5 laps, he did not have enough time to make further progress.

The MotoE World Cup will close the season with a double-header at the San Marino Grand Prix, to be held from 17-19 September at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Xavier Cardelús | P18

“We were unlucky again and couldn’t finish the race. Anyway, I’m very happy and proud of myself for the race I did. This weekend I could really see my potential and, despite the crash, I’m still satisfied with all the work.”

André Pires | P16

“It was a good race, although it was too short. At the beginning I struggled a bit because the track was cold and had no grip. Then I got used to it and I kept a good pace, cutting time with the riders in front. In five laps there is not too much to do, but I’m happy with how it went.”