Long day for Andrea Iannone at Brno
Sub rider for Spies is a Ducati factory team test rider.
Andrea Iannone, Pramac Racing Team
Hazrin Yeob Men Shah
At the end of a challenging qualifying day at the Brno circuit, site of the eleventh round of the MotoGP World Championship, the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team sat in eleventh place.
During the morning’s FP3 session, which serves as the last chance for riders to bypass Q1, Andrea Iannone was more determined than ever to further lower his best time from yesterday, but with about eight minutes remaining, he lost the front and crashed in turn five. Fortunately, the Italian was uninjured, but he lost out on the chance to transfer directly into Q2, which would have given his painful shoulder a short break.
Following a satisfying final free-practice session, in which Iannone improved his best time by .414 seconds, he began Q1, only to enter turn one too quickly due to cold brakes and run into the gravel. Undaunted, he returned to the track three minutes from the end and jumped to the top of the time sheets, putting him into the final qualifying session.
Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
“This morning I tried to push a bit harder, and I can accept the fact that I fell. In Q1, on the other hand, I was honestly a bit stupid, as I didn’t heat the brakes enough on the first lap. When I tried to brake for turn one, I went straight and ended up in the gravel. I tried to slow down as much as possible, but finally I had to lay it down to avoid hitting the air fence. I tried to get going again, but I wasn’t able. Fortunately, I got to the garage in time to go out with the second bike, and I managed to get into Q2. My shoulder still hurts, and it certainly didn’t help that I fell on it again today. Anyway, I improved my time again, and given my current physical condition, I’m pleased with the work we’re doing. I hope I can have a good race tomorrow, because I think it’s possible. As always, a huge thank-you to Ducati and the team, who really help me a lot.”
Hard day adapting for Michele Pirro and Ignite Pramac Racing Team
The search for the feeling with the Desmosedici GP13 continues for Michele Pirro, who is back in the Ignite Pramac Racing Team pits in place of the injured Ben Spies. The Italian is still struggling to find the right bike setup, and he ended the second day of the bwin Grand Prix Ceske Republiky with a spot on the fifth row of tomorrow’s grid.
Although the Italian sat in second place for most of Q1, his time of 1:58.812, which was a little more than six tenths of a second from that of fellow Ducati rider Andrea Iannone, is still far from his and the team’s objectives, and it wasn’t enough to put him into Q2 for this eleventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Work continues in the garage in an effort to find an improved setup for tomorrow’s race.
Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing Team
“It didn’t go as expected. I’m still struggling to find the feeling with the front of the bike, and I’m a little bit disappointed. I was hoping to do something better, but as I said yesterday, I only rode this bike once before this weekend, and I have to adapt and get used to it. The bike I usually ride, the ‘lab,’ has a different chassis and behaves differently. I hope I can get a good result tomorrow, and I’ll try to do my best, of course. Tomorrow night I’ll go to Misano for a scheduled test, and then I’ll fly to Silverstone, where I’ll compete again with this bike. It won’t certainly be easy to jump from one to the other, but it’s my job, and I’ll do everything possible to achieve a good result.”
Pramac Racing Team
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