Italiano
FOURTH PLACE ACHIEVED, SECURED AND CONFIRMED ON FRIDAY AT BALATON PARK!
If Assen was considered a great Friday, here at Balaton, Balda took another step forward; from the first laps, he settled into the top three or four, riding many laps even on used tyres and working hard on his race pace. He finished fourth in FP1, then fourth in the afternoon, halving the gap to the leader. It was the best Friday of the season so far for Team Go Eleven and the number 34!
The Balaton asphalt was slightly dirty and quite slow at the beginning of FP1, so much so that times improved rapidly, lap after lap. Baldassarri seemed to immediately find confidence with the Hungarian track, taking advantage of a formidable first sector. He put in many fast laps, but he missed to get a perfect one. On lap 17, he got 1.40.242, giving him a top-5 finish, improving his time in the third sector. A solid first session, confirming Balda’s speed!
Free Practice 1:
P 1 I. Lecuona 1.39.454
P 2 N. Bulega + 0.243
P 3 S. Lowes + 0.468
P 4 L. Baldassarri + 0.788
In FP2, Balda tested the long run, fifteen consecutive laps replicating the conditions expected for tomorrow’s race. After a few laps to find repeatability in the sectors, he significantly lowered his times, alone on the track, settling on a 39.3, which he repeated three times. He returned to the pits, made a small adjustment to the front end, a bit on the limit entering the chicanes, and improved his best by a tenth on the penultimate lap, with the SCX at the end of its life, 20 laps done. Fourth place was secured, the gap to the leader halved to around four tenths, and great satisfaction with the work done by both the team and the rider.
Free Practice 2:
P 1 I. Lecuona 1.38.860
P 2 N. Bulega + 0.103
P 3 S. Lowes + 0.141
P 4 L. Baldassarri + 0.437
The race tyres have been confirmed; Race will be with the SCX, but tomorrow morning there will be to test the qualifying tyre. On such a narrow and “chicane” track, starting up front is crucial. A Friday like this boosts confidence and morale for the whole team, and Baldassarri found a great feeling with the changes tested in the riding position, too. Tomorrow…it’s race day!
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider):
“We needed a Friday like this! I’m very satisfied with the work done on track and with the team. We were competitive from the first laps, and I feel the bike is in my control. I know where I can still improve, but the base is excellent for tackling Saturday. Today I didn’t want to try the qualifying tyre; we focused on race pace, and it seems good, so I’m confident for the race. Now I’ll rest on today and tomorrow we’ll focus 100% on qualifying first, and then we’ll see what we can do in the race!”
FRIDAY PICS: CLICK HERE
