Italiano
P 2 IN SUPERPOLE, FAST CORNER CRASH IN RACE 1!
From the dream of a front row start to a Race 1 finale to forget. Balda had an incredible qualifying session, second place on the starting grid, but it all ended a few hours later with a bad start and a consequent high-speed crash at Turn 8! There’s still some disappointment over a missed podium chance, but what matters most is that Balda is healthy and in good shape for tomorrow.
Saturday morning starts well, with a perfect FP3; Balda first tests the new race tyre, improving yesterday’s best laptime, then it’s time attack time. With the Q, with no references in front, he breaks through the 39 barrier and moves into third place, showing great confidence here at Balaton Park.
Free Practice 3:
P 1 N. Bulega 1.38.339
P 2 I. Lecuona + 0.134
P 3 L. Baldassarri + 0.264
For qualifying, the strategy was the usual one: try to follow Nicolò and get the first two rows as minimum goal. First attempt, second place, 1.38.7, which secure the position in case of yellow flags or traffic on the track. Despite a quite “slow” first sector. With the second tyre, almost no one can improve, and it’s the front row, second place! Great Balda, an extraordinary second place.
Superpole:
P 1 N. Bulega 1.38.094
P 2 L. Baldassarri + 0.608
P 3 Y. Montella + 0.625
In Race 1, unfortunately, everything went wrong right from the start; a bad start, Lorenzo lost seven positions at the first corner and was stuck in the back of the pack. In the heat of recovery and knowing he had the pace to get back, on the second lap, at Turn 8, the fastest on the whole track, at about 200 km/h, he lost the front end and ended up in the gravel. Race over. Balda, despite a huge shake up, got up and returned to the pits without serious injuries. The damage to the bike was extensive, forcing the team to work late, but what matters most is that the rider is safe and well for tomorrow’s two races.
Race 1:
P 1 N. Bulega 34’48.413
P 2 I. Lecuona + 2.538
P 3 M. Oliveira + 12.584
…
DNF L. Baldassarri
In the warm-up, it will be important to check Balda’s feelings and make sure the bike is working well; furthermore, number 34 will try to quickly regain his confidence on the bike, before attacking right from the start for the Superpole Race!
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider):
“Today’s race is a real shame. The crash at the start of the race compromised all the work we have done over the weekend. I got off to a bad start, but two riders in front of me touched, I had to slow down, and all the other went on the inside. I went into recovery mode, gained positions, then I lost the front in Turn 8. It’s a shame, we would have been fighting for the podium. Let’s take the positive. I’m fine, despite the big crash at about 200 km/h, I’m in one piece, and tomorrow we have two more races to make our mark. We will start from P 2, I want to make up for it!”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“We missed an opportunity today, but the team and Balda did a great job leading up to Superpole. He’s really good on this track, and on Saturday he took another step forward in understanding his Ducati. The crash happens, but unfortunately it happened while trying to come back from a bad start, and at the fastest point of the track. But the important thing is that he’s okay, because tomorrow morning we’ll start from the front row and we can fight for a good result. The key is to forget the crash and pick up where we left off in the morning.”
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