Italiano
CRASHED OUT OF FOURTH PLACE IN RACE 1 AT LAP 5!
Saturday at their home had a really bitter end for Lorenzo Baldassarri and Team Go Eleven, who crashed out of Race 1 while comfortably in fourth place, trying to catch Montella by a few tenths for the podium. It’s a painful zero, and they need to bounce back as soon as possible.
The weekend up until Race 1 had been excellent. Balda and his crew made a big step forward between Friday and Saturday, so much so that in FP3 the number 34 rider proved fast and consistent race rythm.
Free Practice 3:
P 1 S. Lowes 1.31.929
P 2 Y. Montella + 0.046
P 3 N. Bulega + 0.057
P 4 A. Lowes + 0.333
P 5 L. Baldassarri + 0.479
Qualifying was another excellent session for the yellow Ducati. Balda immediately found his rhythm, setting a low 32 on his first attempt, thanks to a strong first and third sectors, two of the trickiest spots at Misano. He pitted in, then went out, and on the first lap set the first two sectors in line with the pole position, a few thousandths ahead, then made a small mistake in the third sector that forced him to abort his lap. On his second attempt, he secured fifth place and an excellent second row. Little news: it was our best Superpole on the Misano track.
Superpole:
P 1 N. Bulega 1.31.343
P 2 I. Lecuona + 0.227
P 3 A. Lowes + 0.657
P 4 Y. Montella + 0.710
P 5 L. Baldassarri + 0.875
In Race 1, Balda had a good start, defended his position, and on the second lap, he dived inside Alex Lowes at the Turn 1. He secured fourth place, in pursuit of the podium. Montella pulled away, but Balda kept his pace, tenth after tenth. On the fifth lap, however, his dreams were over; a little crash at Turn 5. The rider was ok, but a mistake weighed heavily on the standings and morale.
Race 1:
P 1 N. Bulega 32’40.418
P 2 I. Lecuona + 6.117
P 3 Y. Montella + 13.823
…
DNF L. Baldassarri
All that’s left to do is get up from this day. Crashing when you’re in front hurts even more. We need to rediscover the calm and consistency of the early season results. Tomorrow is a new day, with two chances to prove just what we lost today!
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider):
“Everything went well until qualifying. I’m sorry for the mistake in the race in front of my home crowd. I was trying to chase the podium and I felt good. I knew I had a good pace, but in Turn 5, as I changed gear, front closed and i couldn’t save it. We’re fast these days, but we’re not able to bring home the results. Luckily, there are two more races tomorrow. I can’t wait to get out on track and reset today!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“Another crash while we were fourth and fighting for the podium was unwelcome. I’m sorry for the mistake and for Balda; we’d done everything well up until Race 1, but perhaps he was a bit on the limit in chasing Montella for the podium. We’re definitely fast, we have the pace, now we need to get back and get the most out of tomorrow!”
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