The Dutch GP was challenging for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, in Sunday’s race Fabio Di Giannantonio was sixth at the chequered flag and Franco Morbidelli finished in seventh place following a penalty.
Di Giannantonio started from eight place, and he tried to repeat in the race the comeback of yesterday’s Sprint, showing he had the pace to be in front. However, the challenging conditions didn’t allow him to move forward as much as he wanted. Fabio completed the race in sixth place, getting crucial points for the championship, where he’s fifth with 136 points.
With his sixth place in qualifying, Morbidelli started from the second row, and he tried to fight in the top group from the beginning of the race. In the first laps he had a good pace, but a shortcut of the chicane forced him to complete a Long Lap Penalty. So, he finished the race at Assen in seventh place. The #21 rider keeps the fourth place in the World Standing with 139 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is already working on the German Grand Prix, which will take place at Sachsenring from 11th to 13th July.
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 49
“The expectations were higher for today, we’ve been working very well with the team during all the weekend, and I was very fast on the pace. I expected I had more confidence to push, but the feeling with the rear was strange. The race was in defense, so the sixth place is good. In the second half, I lost time staying with Franco and Maverick, I think that I had more potential and, honestly, we could have achieved the fifth place. We just miss the lap in qualifying, because we are fast in every situation. Once we fix the time attack, we can fight for something huge.”
Franco Morbidelli – 21
“At the end, the seventh place is a good result on my most difficult race of the year. Here I’ve always struggled here, and I knew it would happen this weekend too. But we struggled less than I thought, and this is positive. In the first half of the race, I was fighting for the top positions, then I started to struggle with the bike, and I had to slow down. I also had a Long Lap Penalty. Now we rest a little bit, and we prepare for Sachsenring, that’s a more suitable track for us.”
Pablo Nieto – Team Manager
“The weekend was decent for all the team here in Assen. For sure we expected something more both for Fabio and Franco. According to me, we must go back home and analyze all the data we have to understand what happened. We arrived motivated because of the podium at Mugello, but here in Assen we missed something. For the next race at Sachsenring, we aim to go back on top, and we hope to do better.”
