November 2021 - Esponsorama

14 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia put an end to the season after the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Enea Bastianini crossed the finish line in 8th position. The Italian, who had struggled throughout the weekend, managed to make a big step forward on Sunday that allowed him to make a great comeback. The Avintia Esponsorama Racing rider said goodbye to a great rookie year with two podium finishes and 11th place in the MotoGP world standings with 102 points.

Luca Marini said goodbye to the 2021 season with a 17th position at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider finished his first year in the premier class in 19th position in the MotoGP world standings with 41 points, completing a positive learning season.

After a great year for the team, with 143 points and 8th position in the world team standings, Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia have closed their best season since their debut in the premier class.

Enea Bastianini | P8

“I am happy with the race. I was able to overtake a lot, we showed a good pace and we got back to the speed we lacked yesterday. We didn’t get the rookie of the year, but it was more important for me to be fast and have a good race. Congratulations to Jorge for getting it, he did a great job but I would have liked to fight on equal terms.”

Luca Marini | P17

“It was a difficult race. I was hoping to have a better pace, but I had a lot of difficulties with the rear grip. It was a good season where I was able to share with Valentino and where I gave my all. I tried to learn something every weekend and gain experience. I want to thank the whole team and Ducati for their support. And finally, a special thanks to Vale for everything he has done for our sport.”

14 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy put an end to the 2021 season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where both riders finished in the TOP 10 in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana race.

Niccolò Antonelli finished 9th in his last race with the team and in the category. On the first lap, the VR46 Academy rider lost ground on the front group as he had to avoid a multiple crash and was relegated to 16th position. From then on the Italian was able to set a good pace which, despite some grip problems on the front of his bike, allowed him to climb up to 9th place. Antonelli ended the season in 6th position in the Moto3 world standings with a total of 152 points, with one pole position and four podiums.

Carlos Tatay finished 8th in his home Grand Prix. The Valencian rider, who completed his last race as an Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 rider, said goodbye to the team with a good race where, thanks to a good performance, he closed the year with a good taste. In the end, Tatay finished 21st in the Moto3 world standings with 40 points.

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and the Avintia VR46 Academy have closed a good 2021 for the team, finishing as the 6th best team in the Moto3 category with a total of 199 points.

Niccolò Antonelli | P9

“Something strange happened with the bike, because today in the race I had some problems that we never had during the season. The direction was closing in every corner and I couldn’t do more. I’m really sorry because I wanted to do better, but I want to thank the whole team for this season, which has been really good.”

Carlos Tatay | P8

“I am very happy with the way the race went. We had a good pace and to finish the season with a 9th position is very positive. I want to thank the team for all these years and I wish them all the best.”

13 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia completed the last qualifying of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where neither of the two riders were able to enter to Q2.

With a time of 1:31.185, Enea Bastianini will start from 18th position. The Italian, who hasn’t felt comfortable during the weekend, couldn’t pass the Q1 cut. From the 6th row of the grid, the Avintia Esponsorama Racing rider will try to make a good comeback tomorrow.

Luca Marini, who also failed to go through to Q2, will start 17th after stopping the clock at 1:31.073. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider will be looking to finish the season with a good position starting from the 6th row of the grid.

Tomorrow at 14:00 the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana race will start, where Bastianini and Marini will try to close the year with a good result for the team.

Enea Bastianini | 1'31.185 | P18

“It was a bad day. Unfortunately we couldn’t understand why we couldn’t make a step forward compared to yesterday. I will start 18th and I will try to make a comeback, but I think it will be difficult. It’s the last race of the season, I will try to enjoy it and to finish in the best possible way.”

Luca Marini | 1'31.073 | P17

“It’s a tricky track where it’s difficult to find a good feeling with the asphalt and tyres. I’m missing something at the front to be able to be completely comfortable with the handling. It was a pity the yellow flag in FP3, it would have been a different Saturday with direct access to Q2. I was fast, but maybe I lacked a bit of experience with the asymmetric front tyre, plus the rear grip is very difficult to manage. The more experienced riders are making the difference.”

13 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy have finished the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana qualifying, the last of the season, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Niccolò Antonelli will start from 9th position. The Italian rider had to participate in Q1 because his best time in free practice was cancelled for exceeding the track limits. In Q2, Antonelli set a time of 1:39.149, which will allow him to start from the third row of the grid.

Carlos Tatay got direct access to Q2 by being 5th in the combined free practice times. The Valencian rider, with a time of 1:39.317, will start from 11th position in his home Grand Prix.

Tomorrow at 11:00 the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana race will start, where Antonelli and Tatay will try to end the season with a good result for the team.

Niccolò Antonelli | 1'39.149 | P9

“It was a pretty good day for us despite the complications we had in FP3 with the cancellation of our best time. It could have gone a bit better, but it was still positive. We will try to have a good race tomorrow.”

Carlos Tatay | 1'39.317 | P11

“A very positive day, the feelings have been very good. Tomorrow we are expecting a very hard fought race with a big group. We will enjoy it as much as possible, we will try to make a good start and get to the front to get a good result.”

12 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy completed the first day of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where Antonelli and Tatay are in provisional Q2 positions.

In the first free practice and in dry conditions, Antonelli and Tatay set their best times of the day, where the Italian was 11th, with a time of 1:40.087 and the Spaniard 13th, stopping the clock in 1:40.223.

In the second free practice, the track conditions were humid after raining for most of the morning and none of the riders were able to improve their times. Antonelli finished 4th, while Tatay had to settle for 19th position.

Tomorrow at 9:00 the third free practice will start, before the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana qualifying.

Niccolò Antonelli

“The first day went quite well. We are not ahead in the combined free practice times, but the important thing will be the third free practice to get a good position. From now on we will prepare for tomorrow and try to get a good result.”

Carlos Tatay

“It was a bit of a strange day. In FP2 we couldn’t ride too fast because the track was quite wet. We can take the good feeling from FP1, so tomorrow we will continue working to have a good weekend.”

12 November, 202112 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Academy completed the first two free practice sessions of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

The rain made an appearance during the morning session and Bastianini and Marini were able to have their first contact with the Spanish track with the MotoGP bike. The Avintia Esponsorama Racing rider was 14th, while the Sky VR46 Avintia rider finished seventh after suffering a crash without serious consequences.

In the afternoon and in dry conditions, all the riders were able to improve their times. Bastianini suffered a crash that affected him for the rest of the session, where he finished in 20th position. Marini was 21st.

Tomorrow at 9:55 the third free practice will start, where Bastianini and Marini will try to get a position that will give them direct access to Q2 of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana qualifying.

Enea Bastianini

“No estoy contento. Esta mañana con la lluvia no ha ido demasiado bien y por la tarde me he ido al suelo, en general no me he sentido con mucha confianza. De todas formas, nos centraremos en hacer un buen trabajo mañana en el tercer entrenamiento libre y conseguir una buena posición en la clasificación.”

Luca Marini

“No ha sido un viernes fácil. El agarre ha sido probablemente el aspecto más difícil de manejar. Tengo que acostumbrarme a este tipo de condiciones, pero la diferencia con el grupo no es grande y mañana podemos acercarnos. Volveremos a trabajar en el FP3 y probar el neumático duro delantero.”

11 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy will compete this weekend at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana to end the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Niccolò Antonelli is currently 6th in the world standings with 145 points and is coming from Portimao after taking his fourth podium of the season. The VR46 Academy rider, who is still fighting for 3rd place in the championship, wants to finish the year with a good result in his last race with the team.

Carlos Tatay will complete his last race as an Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 rider in Valencia in front of his home crowd. After a year of ups and downs and physical problems, the Valencian rider will be looking to close 2021 in a good position at his home Grand Prix.

The Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy riders will compete tomorrow in the first free practice session of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana from 9:00am.

Niccolò Antonelli

“We are coming to the last race of the season. The aim will be to get a top six position in qualifying and have a good race. We will be looking to have fun over the weekend and finish the season with a good result.”

Carlos Tatay

“It will be my last Grand Prix with this team and I will do it in front of my home fans, which always gives extra motivation and makes the weekend more special. We will work hard from Friday to have a good weekend.”

11 November, 2021

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini will face this weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo the last round of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana.

Bastianini, currently 12th in the world standings with 94 points, arrives in Valencia in great shape and with the aim of being crowned ‘Rookie of the Year’. The Avintia Esponsorama Racing rider has a three-point advantage over Jorge Martín.

Luca Marini is 18th with 41 points. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider, who has made a big step forward since the Misano test, wants to continue confirming the good feelings of the last races at the Spanish track and close the campaign with a good result.

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia will contest the first free practice session of the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana tomorrow from 9:55am.

Enea Bastianini

“We are at the last race of the year. We will try to find a good rhythm from the first day to have a good weekend. It’s a circuit I like, but I’ve never had great results, so it will be important to have a good set-up on the bike, get a good qualifying position so as not to compromise the race and, on Sunday, give everything to achieve our objective.”

Luca Marini

“I am happy to be back on track this weekend, even if it is the last race of the season. In Portimao we confirmed the progress we made in qualifying and free practice. We will keep working in the race to make a good start and keep the pace of the group during the race.”

7 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia completed Sunday’s Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

The race ended early due to a red flag with two laps to go, caused by a crash between Oliveira and Lecuona. Fortunately, both riders escaped the incident without serious consequences.

Enea Bastianini once again put in a great performance, where he was able to take 9th position after starting 13th. The Avintia Esponsorama Racing rider crossed the finish line in the top 10 again after a weekend where he has gone from less to more.

Luca Marini was 12th. The Italian had a difficult start, losing several positions in the early stages of the race. Despite this, Marini was able to impose a good pace that allowed him to reach the end of the race in the points zone.

Avintia Esponsorama Racing and Sky VR46 Avintia will now head to the Circuito Ricardo Tormo , where the final round of the season will be held in a week’s time.

Enea Bastianini | P9

“It was a good race. I lost a few positions at the start, but then, step by step, I had a good pace which allowed me to come back. I’m happy with 9th position, because it was a difficult weekend in general. Next week in Valencia we will try to finish the season with a good result.”

Luca Marini | P12

“The start compromised our race. It is our weak point and, at a certain point in the championship, everyone made a big step forward in this aspect, while we didn’t. I lost a lot of positions in the first corner and then I started to go fast. I’m glad I chose the hard front tyre, I had a lot of confidence, but it was difficult to overtake. We will work on it to improve next season.”

7 November, 2021

Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and Avintia VR46 Academy have successfully finished the Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve race in Portimao.

Niccolò Antonelli was on the podium for the fourth time this season. The Italian, who started from the third row of the grid, completed a chaotic race in a very intelligent way. On the last lap, benefiting from a multiple crash in front of him, Antonelli launched a final attack that allowed him to take the third step of the podium.

For his part, Carlos Tatay made a great comeback from 26th position. The Valencian rider confirmed this morning in the warm up the good feelings after finishing 6th and, in the race, he was able to recover up to 14 positions to cross the finish line 12th.

After a very positive Sunday, the Avintia Esponsorama Moto3 and the Avintia VR46 Academy will head to the Circuito Ricardo Tormo, where the final round of the season will be held in a week’s time.

Niccolò Antonelli | P3

“It was a spectacular race and at the same time very crazy. On the last lap I was off the podium, but there was a crash in front of me and I was in a good position that allowed me to overtake several riders. I am very happy with this 3rd position because it has been a weekend that we have suffered a lot with the bike, so we are satisfied with this result.”

Carlos Tatay | P12

“It was a good weekend and I felt good on the bike. Yesterday’s qualifying was a pity, but in the race we had a good start and I got a very positive position. Now it’s time to think about the last race, it will be my home Grand Prix and I will try to enjoy it in front of my home fans and get a good result.”