Best Independent Team 2020

HOW TO START THE WEEKEND; STRONG PACE, P 3 IN FP2 AND GOOD FEELING!

HOW TO START THE WEEKEND; STRONG PACE, P 3 IN FP2 AND GOOD FEELING!

Best Friday of the season at Jerez de la Frontera; Andrea Iannone and Team Pata Go Eleven finished fourth in the morning, then took third in the afternoon. Excellent race pace, good confidence despite a crash, and high morale ahead of the final WorldSBK Saturday.

In FP1, the team opted to immediately test the new front tyre on the Andalusian track; feelings weren’t optimal, with a little crash loosing the front. #29 finished the session just a bit higher than 38, with a 1:39.028, which earned him fourth place, after seventeen laps on the same tyres. Warm, sunny conditions around 30 degrees Celsius provided the perfect backdrop for the final Friday of the year.

Free Practice 1:
P 1    N. Bulega    1.38.587
P 2    T. Razgatlioglu  + 0.088
P 3    X. Vierge   + 0.422
P 4    A. Iannone   + 0.441

In FP2, the team switched to the classic SC1 front, which immediately improved the front-end issues. The track was much hotter, with greater grip, but also a lot of wind, which bothered the riders, especially in the long corners. On his first outing, #29 replicated his FP1 time, riding just above 38 again, setting the third fastest time. In his second stint, on the first lap, he had a small crash in turn 11. With minimal damages, he managed to return to the pits and was back on track in 8:30 minutes, with the Ducati V4-R restored in record time. Keeping on used tyres, he managed to get back into the low 39, showing great confidence and an excellent pace. The top three defended until the end of the session.

Free Practice 2:
P 1   N. Bulega   1.38.668
P 2   S. Lowes  + 0.198
P 3   A. Iannone  + 0.406

There’s still a lot of work to do, especially to set the front; between FP1 and FP2, we improved in some areas, but we lost feeling in the corners, especially in terms of confidence. Finding a balance between the two sessions would be ideal for tomorrow. A positive day, the best Friday of the year for Team Pata Go Eleven!

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“Today was the best Friday of the year in terms of speed and performance; we confirmed our pace both in the morning and afternoon, finishing third and always managing many laps on the tyres. In the afternoon, I had a small crash; the wind was really bothering me, and I had some issues with the front. We improved in some areas, but things got worse in the fast corners, putting a lot of pressure on the front. I thank the guys for the work they did in the garage; we managed to get back on track after the crash and we still had a good pace. We can improve a lot for tomorrow; let’s focus on qualifying and see what we can achieve on Saturday in Jerez!”

FRIDAY PICTURES: CLICK HERE

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