Category: MotoGP

Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia completed the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón race.

Enea Bastianini, who crossed the finish line in a spectacular 6th position, achieved his best race result since his debut in the MotoGP class. The Italian had an intense fight in the third group of the race, from which he emerged victorious, and only 2 seconds separated him from the top 5.

Luca Marini had to settle for 20th position. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider had a difficult weekend overall and was unable to finish the race at MotorLand Aragón in the points.

Next week, the Avintia Esponsorama and the Sky VR46 Avintia will land at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

“It was a very enjoyable race. At the beginning I struggled in the corners, but from the middle of the race onwards I improved and from then on I started my comeback. It’s a pity that I lost a bit of time fighting with Quartararo and Nakagami, because maybe I could have caught Miller as well. Anyway, it was a race that exceeded my expectations. I think we showed great pace throughout the weekend and we’ll go to Misano in really motivated.”

“A very difficult race, I don’t have much more to say. A complicated weekend and a lot of work to do in order to make a step forward and be competitive for my home GP.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini will start the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón in 9th and 17th position respectively.

For the first time this season, Bastianini made it through to Q2 after being very competitive during free practice sessions. The Italian was 9th with a time of 1:47.278, his best qualifying position since his debut in the MotoGP class.

Luca Marini finished the qualifying session 17th with a best time of 1:47.741. With this grid position, the Sky VR46 Avintia rider will have a good chance to fight for points in the race.

Tomorrow at 14:00 the race of the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón will start, where Bastianini and Marini will be looking for a good result.

“I’m happy because it was my first Q2 of the season and I felt pretty good all day. It was a pity I couldn’t close the second fastest lap, plus I struggled a bit with the front tyre and didn’t get the time I wanted. Anyway, it’s good to start from the third row, and we showed a good pace in free practices as well, so I think we can have a good race tomorrow.”

“Compared to yesterday, we made a good step forward in the bike set-up. In FP4 I rode better and I was able to get closer to the group, although I would need one more day of work to be completely comfortable with the bike and to close the gap. In any case, we will continue to analyse the data to set up the electronics better and to be able to be consistent in long runs. I don’t think we will make any big changes in the warm up because it’s at a time when the track temperature is completely different to the race. We are still deciding which tyre to use tomorrow, most of the riders seem to be orientated with the hard front and the medium rear.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini had a good Friday at MotorLand Aragón after the first two free practice sessions of the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón.

With a time of 1:48.086, Bastianini was 10th in the combined free practice times. The Italian was comfortable on his Ducati and, at the end of the first day, the Avintia Esponsorama rider is in direct access positions to Q2.

Luca Marini ended the first day at MotorLand Aragón 16th in the combined free practice times, with a best time of 1:48.456. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider was satisfied with the work done during the first day at Aragón.

Tomorrow will be the third and fourth free practice before the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón qualifying, where Bastianini and Marini will try to get a good position for the starting grid of Sunday’s race.

“It was a positive day, where I started off on the right foot. I was able to enjoy FP1, but in FP2 I didn’t feel quite comfortable, because I didn’t feel a good grip with the front tyre. Fortunately, the time attack was good and I managed to set a good time that allowed me to save the day. I had a good pace, but as I said, in the afternoon the feeling wasn’t the same as in the morning.”

“I’m happy with today. We worked well with the team, but it’s a pity I made too many mistakes on my time attack with the new tyre. Aragon is not an easy track and, compared to last year, it was a surprise to see a Ducati so competitive on this track. For tomorrow we will focus on the details, the electronics, the suspension, and then we will try to do a good FP4 to know which tyre to use for the race. For the moment, all three compounds seem to work well.”

Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia arrive this weekend at MotorLand Aragón, where the 13th round of the World Championship calendar, the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón, will take place.

Bastianini and Marini are back after a positive weekend at Silverstone. The Avintia Esponsorama rider managed to cross the finish line in 12th position, while Marini scored one more point after finishing 15th.

At MotorLand Aragón, both riders will have another opportunity to continue on their good form and continue to score important points for the team.

The action for the MotoGP riders at the Spanish track will get underway on Friday at 9:55 with the first free practice of the Gran Premio Tissot de Aragón.

“Aragón is a track I really like. At Silverstone last weekend we proved to be fast but I made too many mistakes, so I hope to have a good grand prix here. It’s a very particular circuit, it’s very important to find a good set-up and try to be fast during the whole race, because during the last laps the tyre is very consuming, so these factors will be very important.”

“Aragón is a very special track, although it is not one of my favourites on the calendar. Last year the Ducatis had problems here, so, I expect a difficult Grand Prix, although a lot has changed in 2021. It will all depend on the temperature we find and the tyres. We have to adapt as best as possible and as quickly as we can. The goal, as always, is to stay as close as possible to the Ducatis and score more points.”

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.

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

“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.”

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).

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

“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.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini will start the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich at the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg in 15th and 17th position respectively, after having to participate in Q1.

Unfortunately, both riders were unable to finish in the top two positions of the session which would have allowed them to fight for pole position in Q2. Bastianini’s best lap was 1:23.790, while Marini’s was 1:23.834.

Tomorrow at 14:00 the Bitci Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich race will start, where Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia will try to finish with a good result.

“It was a bad day and I think we could have had a better result. In FP4 we were very fast and unfortunately this morning I couldn’t set a good lap because I crashed. Then we had some tyre problems which didn’t allow me to set a good lap either. I’m sure we had the speed to be much higher and to be in Q2. Tomorrow we will start 15th, which is better than last week, although it’s not the result we deserve.”

“I’m a bit angry about the grid position, we could have done better and got into Q2. We knew it was going to be difficult, I was going very fast on my last attempt, but other riders disturbed me. I had to stop accelerating and abort the lap. It’s a pity, because now MotoGP qualifying is also decided in fights like Moto3.”