Bastianini Fifth After Positive Friday In Texas. Learning Day For ‘Diggia’
Gresini Racing Team Moto3 riders were back on track today at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas, in the immediate outskirts of Austin, Texas, for the first two free practice sessions of the Grand Prix of the Americas, third round of the 2016 campaign.
Enea Bastianini enjoyed a positive day of practice, setting the fifth fastest time in the combined classification with a lap time of 2’16”859. The 18-year-old racer from Rimini, who worked a lot for the race without pushing for the fast lap, he’s already pleased with the set-up of his bike, having reached a good feeling with the front end of his Honda NSF250RW machine.
On a very long and technical track on which he had never rode before, young rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio spent the first session to learn the track, then in the afternoon he started to work on the set-up, though struggling mainly on corner entry. The 17-year-old from Rome set a lap time of 2’19”326 in the second session and he expects to improve tomorrow.
ENEA BASTIANINI (5th – 2’16”859)
“The first session, in the morning, was immediately positive: we always used the same tyres in order to evaluate their and due to this kind of work we closed the session a little back on the timesheets, but without worries. In the afternoon we made some changes on the bike and I’m satisfied because they gave me a good feeling with the front end. Tomorrow we will continue to work on some aspects of the set-up, but we already took the right direction. I could have done much better in terms of lap time, but I preferred not to push too much, staying focused on the work program. I’m happy with this first day”.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO (28th – 2’19”326)
“This morning we started the day on the right foot, then unfortunately in the afternoon we struggled more: we tried different set-up solutions on the bike, but tomorrow we will need to better understand how to improve. I can improve my riding, no doubt, and also the bike set-up. At the moment I’m struggling in the changes of direction and also on corner entry, immediately after the release of the brakes, when it’s difficult to turn the bike. Tomorrow will certainly be a better day”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“At the end of this first day we can say to be in line with our work program: Enea didn’t push for the lap time but he’s in the top group, with a really small gap from the top if we consider that the track it is very long. Tomorrow we will try to improve further some aspects of the bike, but we are confident. Today Di Giannantonio struggled a bit, but tomorrow he will have time to understand how to improve”.
