Friday, August 2nd - Practices
Friday at Silverstone kicks off after a long summer break with free practice for the British Grand Prix. The team begins the weekend with good teamwork on the track, opting to have both riders run together. David starts the weekend looking for the right feeling on a new track for him, showing a quick learning curve. Matteo works to find speed and test new options the team has been working on.
The sunny weather, unusual for this circuit, helps the riders improve their times in Friday afternoon's practice; David manages to maintain his position from the morning, while Matteo continues to significantly improve his time, finishing the session in 12th position.
Saturday, August 3rd - Practice and Qualyfing
The Saturday morning session confirms the good work done by the team so far. The track is colder than the previous day, both due to the early hour and the cloudy weather. In this session, both riders go out together again, finding themselves in the group of riders looking to improve their times. Matteo finishes the session in 7th position, with David following in 11th, ready to tackle the Qualifying in the afternoon.
David manages to improve his lap time but ends up qualifying towards the back of the grid. Despite the challenges of this demanding track, he is able to gather new data to work on with the team for the Grand Prix. Matteo hits the Q2 target, qualifying in 13th position. Due to traffic on his last flying lap, he is unable to further improve his time.
Sunday, August 4th - Race
On Sunday, the race starts under a slight hint of rain, which dissipates during the first lap. Matteo starts strong, gaining 3 positions in the first two corners. David also finds good speed despite a complicated start, managing to recover some positions.
As the race progresses, the riders begin to separate into groups; Matteo manages to stay with the leading group, while David, although slightly behind, remains ahead of his starting position.
The race remains extremely aggressive for most of the time, with Matteo's excellent tire management allowing him to contend for the top positions of the leading group until the end. David continues his race further back but maintains a satisfactory race pace compared to the rest of the weekend.
David Almansa climbs 5 positions, finishing the race in 18th place. Matteo Bertelle finishes in 11th place after a thrilling final two laps, just over 1 second behind the leader, bringing home 5 points and gaining confidence for the upcoming races.
Commenti dei piloti
David Almansa's words after his first race at the Silverstone circuit: “It was a difficult start, and I lost some positions, but then I managed to climb back up quickly in the first few laps. The soft tire helped because it didn't degrade too much. I started to lose a bit of pace in the last 6-7 laps, but overall, we are satisfied with the race. We recovered several positions and are gradually improving in all aspects. Now we prepare for the next race!”
A boost of confidence for Matteo Bertelle after the GP: “A race like this was just what we needed to regain confidence. The feelings were good already on Saturday, and I was convinced I could have a good race. The bike was running well, and I felt great. I am happy with the work done with the team after analyzing everything necessary for this track. I thank the team, who are always working hard, and we are ready to make the leap forward. Gass looking ahead to Austria!”