#AustrianGP: Pecco is penalized by technical problems
AN ENCOURAGING TIME ON FRIDAY PRACTICE LAPS, BUT THEN PECCO IS SLOWED DOWN AND PENALIZED BY THE WELL-KNOWN TECHNICAL PROBLEMS…
An old saying goes that well begun is half done. Unfortunately, however, our Suomy Rider Francesco Bagnaia continues to suffer from serious and penalizing problems with his bike, which prevent him from maintaining the consistency needed to keep up with the fastest riders over multiple laps. In Friday practice, Pecco showed his speed, he was among the fastest, but then in the Sprint Race he was even forced to retire, and in Sunday’s race he couldn’t make it onto the podium, having to settle for eighth place. Instead, our Moto2 rider Ivàn Ortolà, who had been far from the leaders in qualifying, surprised in the race and clinched a spectacular sixth place.
SPRINT RACE
The Red Bull Ring circuit has always been a favorable track for our Pecco Bagnaia, but unfortunately this weekend too he had to fight against a bike that couldn’t give him the right feeling and was very unstable at the rear. A sensation that Pecco had already felt during the warm-up lap, and which only grew worse. The poor start didn’t seem to penalize him much: Pecco still showed he had good pace, enough to get back into the points zone, but then the rear-end problems forced him to retire.
RACE
Sunday’s race seemed to start under the best auspices. Pecco got off to a good start, although he didn’t seem particularly fast or to have the same pace as the front runners. Still, everything suggested that the podium could be within reach. Unfortunately, the rear wheel problem flared up again, and Francesco found himself having to handle an uncooperative and unstable bike. The lack of grip prevented him from pushing as he would have liked, and once again he was forced into a conservative ride, which nonetheless allowed him to secure eighth place.
MOTO 2
Great satisfaction instead came from Moto2, where our Ivàn Ortolà finally managed to secure sixth place, his best result of the season. Starting quite far back on the grid, Ivàn rode well, stayed focused, and managed to gain several positions, coming close to the podium.
“What we know at the moment is the final result: I didn’t finish the race. We need to wait for the feedback from the engineers based on the few laps I was able to complete. I don’t exactly know what happened; I experienced a lot of instability, especially at the rear-end, which is something I had noticed already during the warm up lap. When we have more information, we’ll be in a position to know if adjustments are needed ahead of the race. It’s a pity because, despite the bad start, I had in theory the pace to get back in the points, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible today.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race DNF
“It’s difficult to explain this type of performance, especially on a track where I’ve always been strong. I got a good start and everything looked good in the opening laps, even though I didn’t have the same pace as the frontrunners. The idea was to stay calm and bring home the best possible result, but then I began to slow down as soon as I lost support from the rear-end. Today I found myself battling for the top eight and was 12 seconds behind the winner at the line – my pace was slow. The weekend started off very well and the pace shown on both Friday and Saturday morning was a good one. Then we know how the Sprint and race went, and it’s a pity. The potential is there, but we can’t express it in the race right now.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race 8°
World Standings P. 3
Next Round:
HUNGARIAN GP
Balaton Park
August 22-24th
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in Austria.