SCORCHING FRIDAY OF FREE PRACTICE AT MONTMELÓ WITH ENEA IN TOP3
#CatalanGP libere. Because of the location and time of the year, the eighth round of the season at Montmeló is once again characterised by scorching temperatures (27ºC), which were partially mitigated by a light breeze. The first day was marked by uncertainty and very levelled performance, with 15 riders covered by only one second.
Enea Bastianini’s Catalan Grand Prix started on the right foot as he set the third-quickest time (1’39.890secs) and was the best positioned Ducati rider in the timesheets, despite having margin to improve both in the time attack and with regards to the race pace.
Fabio Di Giannantonio also did a good job as he was 0.944secs away from the top and only four tenths in arrears from his teammate. Tomorrow, as usual, the FP3 session will be crucial for a direct access to Q2, while Free Practice 4 will be extremely important for tyre selection ahead of the race.
3rd – ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’39.890)
“I’m happy with today: we started off well already this morning, even though all Ducati riders have struggled a little bit more than expected. We did very well in FP2, though. We still have to improve a bit in some areas of the circuit and with regards to race pace, but I must be happy with this Friday. We tried both the medium and the rear tyre options and I’m still not sure what I’ll choose for the race: I felt good with the medium one in FP1, while I was expecting a bit more from the hard tyre. We will have to make a good evaluation.”
13th – FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’40.346)
“I’m happy, because we did very little modification and when that happens it means that things are going well. I have a good feeling and in the afternoon we only used one tyre because the heat wouldn’t have allowed us to set a good time anyway. I also tried the hard tyre, but we will have a clearer idea in FP4. Right now we’re working on making it into Q2 directly, which is a realistic goal.”
