Friday, July 5th - Practices
The weather conditions for this race weekend appear extremely variable from the start. On Friday, the circuit is dry despite the variable forecast. The work done by the riders together with the team starts to show positive signs, with a first session that brings good speed and a situation that the riders particularly appreciate.
Friday's Practice 1 ends quickly for David Almansa, who, due to a slip on the first flying lap, is unable to recover the bike in time to return to the pits. On the other hand, Matteo Bertelle has a very good session, with work that highlights very fast times in all sectors, managing to finish the session temporarily in the group of riders projected to go directly to Q2.
Saturday, July 6th - Practices and Qualyfing
Saturday begins with a completely different weather from Friday; clear skies and a warm sun heating up the air and the track. Bertelle's work in the first session aims to find the best conditions to set a fast lap and improve in the pre-qualifying. David, on the other hand, works to improve his feeling with the track after missing Practice 2.
Matteo finds the speed he was looking for, but his lap time slips away due to constant traffic that causes him to slow down in the final sector. Therefore, both riders start from Q1. David struggles to find a perfect lap, leading to further setup changes on the bike. Matteo finds himself in a group of riders that slows him down, but not enough to keep him out of Q2 qualifiers, unlike David who will start further back on the grid due to his difficulties.
In Q2, Matteo manages to find great speed, competing for a good lap time. Unfortunately, on the last lap, a slip prevents him from securing the excellent position he was aiming for in the race, but it does not dampen his optimism due to the speed he regained.
Sunday, July 7th - Race
David gets a perfect start, quickly recovering several positions and momentarily placing himself in the points. Matteo, forced to start from the pit lane, begins the race with the goal of catching up with the chasing group as soon as possible.
David decides to serve his Saturday penalty on the third lap, taking a long lap penalty that puts him behind the leading group. Matteo manages to maintain great speed throughout the race, fighting for a points position and finishing in 15th place, securing the last available point. David finishes the race in 20th place, recovering more positions than he gained in qualifying.
Riders Comments
Despite starting from the pit lane, Matteo remains satisfied with his performance: “I need to apologize to the team for the penalty, but I'm happy with the race because I understood how to work better on the tires, and I'm also pleased with the work on the bike. Now we'll take a bit of a break to arrive at Silverstone energized and penalty-free!”
David's words after finishing the race: “I think this was one of the most challenging race weekends of my career. The layout of this track didn't particularly help me, especially since it's short, we did more laps putting a lot of strain on the left side. Nevertheless, I managed the race pace, gaining a few positions. Now we'll prepare to arrive at Silverstone ready and fast!”