Reale Avintia Academy – GP of the Americas – COTA
The second day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas had started well for Livio Loi. The Belgian rider of the Reale Avintia Academy was fast and confident despite the low track temperatures in the morning and his lap times were very competitive with rain tyres. But when the 20-year-old went out on slicks for the last minutes of the qualifying sessions, he didn’t get back to the right feeling for his bike and couldn’t push hard enough to improve his lap times and to break into the top group of riders once again. Instead, he dropped back in the time sheets and will now have to start the Moto3 race on Sunday from the last row of the grid. Nevertheless, Loi hopes to get a good start, to take advantage of his strong race pace in dry conditions and to fight for the best result possible.
“I am very disappointed. I was very fast with rain tyres and I felt really comfortable. But when I came in for my tyre change, there was only time left for two more laps and I couldn’t get the maximum out of the slicks. Now I am way back on the grid, which is a shame. But there is still hope: We were fast in dry and in wet conditions and I am confident that I can recover many positions and show our real potential in the race.”
