English
Italiano
It was a more than positive Friday experienced by the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team riders in Jerez, under the watchful eyes of boss Valentino Rossi. In fact, both Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio managed to secure a place in Q2, ending the day in fourth and ninth position respectively. A result that gives morale especially to the Rimini native, after an all uphill start to the season.
"It was a good first day and both in terms of pace and energy I'm in pretty good shape - commented the Bez - The start was better than in previous races and on the pace I'm not bad, although I'm still missing a few tenths. More than anything, I wasn't able to do many laps on the medium tire because of a slip at the beginning of the session, and although I made a 1'37"5 pass on lap 18 this morning that wasn't bad, I feel a little slower than the very first ones on pace. With the soft, on the other hand, I found a few yellow flags, but the lap came out pretty well. I could have done a little better but the important thing was to be in the ten, so that's good enough."
A performance perhaps not perfect, but certainly encouraging."I am of the philosophy that you have to enjoy when you can enjoy. Today was a good day and I have to be happy about that, although obviously I should not rest on my laurels, which are few since I finished fourth - noted Marco - We have to keep working and improving, but it was a good start compared to previous races and I am happy."
After a complicated start to the season, the Romagna native is rediscovering that good feeling he had with the Desmosedici 2023 also riding the GP24.
"Yes, it has been clearly better here from the start ," he said, " The track tends to have less grip than the previous ones, so I felt a small improvement in the middle of the corner, which was the point where I had not yet been able to make progress since the beginning of the year, while I had already settled a little bit of everything else, that is, braking, entry and corner exit. I'm feeling better but it's only Friday, so we'll have to continue to stay on the piece, work, study the others, and try to improve again."
It is precisely the data from the other Ducati riders that is proving to be a valuable help for the 25-year-old in adapting to his new bike.
"I don't want to bandage my head too much, otherwise then it becomes a disease, but having the good fortune to be able to see how seven other riders do well on the bike, I try to take advantage of it, trying to study them as best I can to grow and learn," stressed Bezzecchi, who in Jerez will also be able to count on Valentino's presence in the box.
An extra charge and spur, almost like when you have your girlfriend there. Or maybe, not quite like that."It's better to have Vale in the box than the girlfriend - pointed out the VR46 rider with a smile - Vale definitely helps a lot, because he comes to see us on the track and gives us a lot of advice, so there is so much to gain with him and it really gives a taste to have him here with us."
Turning instead to the weather, the Rimini native is clear about the conditions he would like to find tomorrow: "Better dry because rain has too many unknowns, but the conditions are the same for everyone, so we'll see. I hope, however, that there will be dry because I would like to continue working by studying today's data, to continue to make progress tomorrow."
Di Giannantonio: "I like that Vale is there, he should come more often!"
Having hit Q2, the mood is also high on the other side of the VR46 box, where Fabio Di Giannantonio can rejoice at the progress made between FP1 and the afternoon session.
"This morning I had some problems with the bike and I wasn't very fast, but we made some big steps forward for the afternoon and the potential, actually, is very high. I'm really happy with the feeling I had this afternoon ," he recounted, " The time attack was not great because, unfortunately, I found some traffic and had to overtake on my fast lap and when I was doing a really good lap I caught the yellow flag. But the goal of the day was to be in Q2 and we got it, so it was a good day. Maybe one of my best Fridays."
A very good day, made even more special by the presence of Valentino Rossi.
"It's so cool, because I saw him on the track while I was lapping and then also in the pit and I said to myself, 'there's the boss here in Jerez, I have to make a good impression!' I saw he was in Turn 4 and, to make a good impression, I was going in like a dragon. Like I've never done in my life ," he said, laughing, " It's obviously all new to me and it's great to have Vale here. Earlier we exchanged a few words about riding and what he saw on the track and, honestly, it's an honor to even have an opinion from Valentino Rossi, the greatest of all time. I like him and I'm already saying that I think he should come more often!"
Another big topic of the weekend is the possible arrival of rain. Advantage or disadvantage for the Roman?
"Let's see. I'm never for or against rain, because I've always been a fast rider both on water and in the dry, so in the end it changes little for me - he admitted - Of course I'd like to ride in the dry because it's always nicer, but I'll be ready and confident in both conditions."
Automatic Translation by DeepL
