Category: MotoGP

Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini completed the race of the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deustchland.

Marini managed to cross the finish line inside the Top 15 after a hard-fought race. The Sky VR46 Avintia rider, who lost some positions during the early stages of the race, was able to come back to score a valuable point.

Bastianini, who was penalized three positions on the grid after yesterday’s qualifying, finished the race in 16th position at Sachsenring, just one position outside of the points.

Avintia Esponsorama and Sky VR46 Avintia will race the ninth round of the World Championship calendar next week, the Motul TT Assen.

“I am not happy with my race because unfortunately I had some problems that made me lose a lot of time and we will try to understand why. At some points of the circuit, I was fast and I was able to make a little bit of a difference, but it wasn’t enough. Overall, it was a difficult weekend. We leave here with experience because we did a lot of laps with left-hand turns, and I think it will help for the future. I’m sure we’ll do better at Assen.”

“I am satisfied with the weekend, we had a good race where I was fast and consistent. I had a good feeling, the result of the work done here and in the Barcelona test. I can show my potential better, but we still need to work on how to manage the start and the first laps.”

Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini finished the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland qualifying in 14th and 15th position respectively for the race.

During Q1, both riders missed out on a place in Q2. Marini set a best time of 1:20.864, just 2 tenths slower than the second placed rider, while Bastianini stopped the clock at 1:20.953.

Tomorrow at 14:00 the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland race will take place, where Marini and Bastianini will fight from the first lap to cross the finish line with points.

“It was a good day. This morning I didn’t set my best time and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t push like I wanted to. However, in qualifying I was able to set a good time and I felt strong. We still have some work to do, but I feel ready for tomorrow’s race.”

“I think we have to be satisfied with this P14, it’s a good result for us and we are only half a second off pole time. We have done a good job with the team, we are fast, we have reduced the gap to the leaders and tomorrow we have a very tough race ahead of us. It will be difficult on the medium tires, we are all very close and it will be crucial to start well and manage the first few laps.”

Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini have finished the first day of the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix, where both riders had their first contact with the Sachsenring circuit aboard their Ducati Desmosedici GP19.

Marini was 18th in the combined free practice with a best time of 1’21.595. Bastianini ended the first day in 19th position after setting a time of 1’21.702.

The third free practice of the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix will start tomorrow at 9:55.

“It was a difficult day, however, we got some positive things out of it and we have a good pace. This morning I was able to try different tires, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the hard one. My fast lap wasn’t very good and also some other riders bothered me and didn’t allow me to give 100%. I am sure that tomorrow we will achieve better times and we will try to give our best.”

“It was not an easy day, we had some problems, but the feeling was not bad at all. What we did in the Barcelona test worked here, I felt good on the bike and I rode as I like. In FP2 I had a problem shortly after the start, which made me lose feeling with the rear. I went back out on the soft tire, but I couldn’t get the most out of it because I had the medium tire in front, whereas I prefer the hard one. I tried to push anyway because the top 10 was possible, but I crashed. The soft held out for about three laps, so I tried to make the most of it on my fifth attempt. I’m really sorry for the team because they’ll have a lot of work to do tonight.”

The MotoGP World Championship lands this weekend at the Sachsenring circuit for the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deuchtsland, the 8th round of the calendar.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini, who achieved a positive result at the Catalunya Grand Prix, will be looking forward to continuing scoring important points for the team in Germany.

The action will start on Friday at 9:55am with the first free practice of the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deuchtsland.

“We arrive at Sachsenring, a track where we were not at last year because of the coronavirus. Anyway, it is a track that I have normally been good at, especially with the Moto3. With the Moto2 I was only able to race once, and we’ll see what it will be like to be here on a MotoGP bike.”

“Sachsenring is a very special track, but with its charm and with MotoGP it will be even more. The track was already narrow and small with the Moto2, and now I’m curious to see what effect it will have on the Ducati. It’s going to be a difficult weekend, and I think the differences will be very small. The circuit is only a few kilometers long, so we will only be separated by a few tenths of a second, and this year the class is at an extremely high level, with differences of less than a second between first and twentieth. This is another reason why it will be fascinating. We will start with all the positives we picked up from the Barcelona test to keep growing.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini finished a very positive Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya for the team, both finishing in the points.

Bastianini made a great comeback after starting from 17th position in qualifying. The Italian was able to cross the finish line in a well-deserved and hard-earned 10th place.

Luca Marini managed his tires impressively during the race. Thanks to this, the Sky VR46 Avintia rider scored 4 valuable points by finishing in 12th position.

Tomorrow, a test will be held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before heading to Sachsenring, where the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland will take place in two weeks.

“It was a good race and I enjoyed it. I tried to cut as much time as possible to the riders in front and I’m happy with the position, but a little bit less so because of the gap to the first. I suffered a lot under braking and today I didn’t feel 100%. Fortunately, tomorrow we have a test here where we can work and prepare for the next race and maybe get the confidence I lost with the crash on Saturday.”

“It was a good weekend and the race went more or less as expected. I rode well, I managed the tires well, both front and rear. It’s a pity I made a mistake in the first corner, I was following Marquez and Rossi and I was fighting with them. The tire overheated and the pressure also increased. I lost a couple of seconds there, then I recovered and I was also lucky because a lot of people made mistakes. The track was slippery and I am happy to bring home 12th place. I picked up a lot of information and four points. Tomorrow we have a test day and I’m expecting a lot because we are not far away from being with the front guys, just a few more tenths and we can find them.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini completed a difficult qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya.

Both riders had to compete in Q1 and, unfortunately, neither of them was able to make it through the cut. Bastianini will start the race 17th after a best time of 1:39.590. Marini, with a time of 1:39.942, has finished in 19th position.

Tomorrow at 13:00 the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya race will take place where Bastianini and Marini will fight from the beginning to cross the finish line with a good result.

“It was a difficult day. We started well this morning, but then I had a crash that made me lose a bit of confidence. In the afternoon I was able to get it back step by step, but my time wasn’t enough to finish in the top two. Anyway, I’m quite satisfied with the work we’ve done and tomorrow we have to try to take another step forward, to continue to get the confidence we’ve lost and it will be important to make a good start.”

“With the grid position aside, I have to say that I am happy to have done two races in two consecutive weekends. This has helped me to push the bike to the limit, to be able to work well with the tires and to have fun on the track. Today’s times are not the best, but it’s what I can do at the moment. I rode well, I didn’t make any mistakes, but I had no grip on the rear, especially on the right side, something that never happened to me in the previous sessions. Overall, I can say that I am satisfied with the level of riding we are achieving and with the work we are doing with the whole team.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini started the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya finishing 8th and 13th respectively in the combined practice times.

During the first free practice, Bastianini and Marini were able to work on the set-up of the bike to get a good balance that is so important and necessary at this track.

For the second free practice, both riders were able to set their best laps of the day. Bastianini stopped the clock at 1:39.977, a time that puts him in Q2 positions. Marini, who suffered a minor crash in the early stages of the session, set a time of 1:40.094.

Tomorrow the action will return to the Catalan track for the third and fourth free practice sessions before qualifying for the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya.

“I am quite happy with the first day. We started off on the right foot in FP1 and I immediately found a good feeling. This afternoon we were able to work a little bit with the tires, trying to understand the tire compound and the tire life. I felt comfortable with both and it won’t be easy to decide for the race. On my first fast lap I went off the track and on my second one I made some mistakes. Nevertheless, I’m eighth, but with a margin, so I think we can make a step forward tomorrow.”

“This track is great fun to ride a MotoGP bike, although today’s conditions were really difficult in terms of grip. We struggled a bit, but we were also able to try some new solutions in terms of set-up and overall, I’m happy with the day. We need to make a step forward on the fast laps, we have room for improvement, and we will use FP3 to try something else. There are some places on the track where I can’t do what I want to do.”

The MotoGP World Championship will take place this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona for the seventh round of the calendar, the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini, who had a difficult weekend in Mugello, face the Grand Prix with the clear objective of continuing to score important points for the team and to keep their great adaptation to the premier class.

The action will start on Friday at 09:55 for the first free practice of the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya.

“Barcelona is a track I like a lot. It will be my first time here on a MotoGP bike. Unfortunately, we are coming from a very difficult weekend for various reasons at Mugello, but I am sure we will be fast here. We have to find the right balance on Friday to make everything simpler.”

“It’s difficult to make predictions for Barcelona. Ducati has always done well here, but we will see what tires Michelin brings because it is one of the most complicated circuits for grip. We have to do a good job on the set-up to find a good balance for the bike.”

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini conclude a Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley complex considering all the circumstances that have surrounded the weekend.

Bastianini was unable to see the chequered flag. The Italian suffered a crash during the formation lap after an incident with Zarco. Despite this, Enea was able to return to the pits to start with the second bike, but unfortunately crashed again.

Luca Marini, who did not have a good feeling with the bike during the whole race, crossed the finish line in 17th position.

“Unfortunately, it was a very tough Sunday, starting from the loss of Dupasquier. On the formation lap, coming out of the last corner, I touched with Zarco and I couldn’t do anything to avoid the crash. I tried to get to the pit as fast as possible to take the second bike, but on the first lap I crashed. We’ll try to make up for it in Barcelona and I’ll try to prepare as much as possible because in any case we were fast and competitive.”

“It was a very tough race and we fought hard. We have to work to close the gap. I had a similar problem in Qatar: I couldn’t feel the rear tire and I couldn’t make it work properly. I was losing on corner entry, I was always sideways and I was also losing acceleration. This weekend was something strange that I had never experienced before. The difference with the front was big and we have to understand what happened because we haven’t made any major changes to the bike since Friday.”

Mugello (Italy), 26th May 2021

The MotoGP World Championship lands this week at the mythical Mugello track for the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, the sixth round of the season.

Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini, who finished in the points at Le Mans, will face their “home Grand Prix” hungry to continue scoring good results to climb up in the standings and continue winning experience on the Ducati Desmosedici GP19.

The action at the Italian circuit gets underway on Friday at 9:55am for the first MotoGP practice session of the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley.

“Mugello is one of my favourite circuits and it’s an extremely fast track. Unfortunately, last year we didn’t race because of the coronavirus, but this year we are lucky enough to be back and I will be back on a MotoGP bike, so I can’t wait to experience the thrills here with so much horsepower. At Le Mans we did a good job, in dry conditions we were quite fast, so I think we can have a good feeling. Obviously, it’s my home Grand Prix as well as Misano, so I’m looking forward to this weekend even more”

“It will be an important race for me. It’s my favourite track on the calendar and it’s always great to race there. This year we will be back with a MotoGP bike. Ducati has always been strong at Mugello, so I hope to do well and have fun. It’s going to be a special weekend, I’m really looking forward to it and I’m preparing as best I can. I want to enjoy it from start to finish”