Solid Day One at Sepang for Di Giannantonio and Sasaki
The Gresini Racing Team Moto3 was back on track today for the first two Free Practice sessions of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit: Fabio Di Giannantonio and Ayumu Sasaki, who this weekend is replacing injured Enea Bastianini, were in action on a damp track this morning, while this afternoon’s FP2 session was held under the rain.
Conditions which have recommended Fabio Di Giannantonio – at his first visit to the Malaysian circuit – not to take too many risks: the 18-year-old rookie from Rome, who was immediately fast in the early stages of the FP1, preferred to stay in the pits in the second part of the morning session considering the presence of several wet patches on the asphalt. Therefore “Diggia” – 14th fastest in the afternoon in the wet – closed the combined classification in 29th position with a lap time of 2’20”160.
The day was also good for Ayumu Sasaki, who faced his first experience in the Moto3 World Championship with the right approach, completing 27 laps and resulting 22nd fastest both in the morning and in the afternoon with a wet track.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO (29th – 2’20”160)
“The first free practice session has been positive, although the conditions were not the best to learn the track. In fact since the beginning of the session I always set good lap times, remaining in the top ten and even in the top five midway through the session. Later, however, to push harder it would have been necessary to take too many risks, because there were many wet patches on the asphalt, so I preferred to stay in the pits. In the afternoon, with the rain, I did a 30-minute long run to get used to the track and to the wet conditions: I’m very happy with how it went because I have always improved and I was able to learn something at every lap. IN the final stages of the FP2 we tried a change on the front end to try to make the bike turn better, and also from this point of view we made some progress, immediately improving our lap times. I’m very happy with this first day and we can still improve a lot. The track is beautiful because is very wide and you can make a lot of lines”.
AYUMU SASAKI (22nd – 2’18”959)
“In the morning the weather was good, but on the track there were still many wet areas, so I couldn’t push hard. However, I make the most of the FP1 to get used to both the bike and the team: they did a great job to help me and the morning session was positive. Unfortunately in the afternoon it rained and the conditions were even more difficult for me, but it was a positive session to learn many things ahead of the rest of the weekend!”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“Given today’s conditions, we started the weekend with calm and without taking too many risks: having said that, it was not bad at all and we believe we have done a good job, although of course there is room for improvement. Di Giannantonio had never been here, so he didn’t want to risk too much and I think he has taken the right approach to learn. Sasaki started a wonderful experience with the right approach too, and it was nice to see Enea in the garage to give him advice”.
