Wind and rain during the Phillip Island weekend, but everything changes in the race

Friday, October 18th - Practices

A small storm hit the Phillip Island circuit just in time for the Moto3 free practice sessions. Despite the challenging conditions, the team still managed to achieve a good result. Bertelle and Almansa immediately showed a good feeling in the wet during this first session of the weekend. Matteo even managed to take the lead for a few minutes, while David consistently stayed in the top five during the first run. The session ended with Bertelle in 3rd place and Almansa just outside the top 10.

Conditions improved for Practice 1, bringing a bit of sunshine, but the track remained partially wet, further complicating the feel. Although it was impossible to improve the FP times, both riders continued to stand out with impressive speed, finishing among the fastest in the session. This time, Almansa led the team, ending Friday in 4th position, with Bertelle close behind in 5th place.

Saturday, October 19th - Practices and Qualifying

Saturday morning's Practice 2 confirmed wet conditions on the track, but still allowed the riders to improve their lap times. After a series of fast laps that put him in first position, David Almansa's bike encountered a technical issue, forcing him to end the session early. Matteo Bertelle, on the other hand, continued the session with impressive speed despite the conditions, finishing the combined standings in 7th position and securing direct access to Q2.

The afternoon qualifying sessions didn’t bring particularly positive news: both Almansa and Bertelle showed they had the speed, but unfortunately, they couldn’t back it up with a fast lap due to two crashes. David went down in Q1, followed by Matteo's crash in Q2, both affected by the tricky track conditions and strong wind. As a result, they will be starting just past the middle of the grid for the Grand Prix.

Sunday, October 20th - Race

The race began with sunny weather, a first for the weekend. While the start was challenging for Bertelle, it was balanced out by a strong start from Almansa, who managed to gain five positions in the opening corners. Unfortunately, Almansa's promising start was short-lived as he got caught up in a crash, fortunately without any injuries, but it compromised his race.

The race continued with a large group of 17 riders, and Bertelle found the right pace to fight for good positions, successfully making multiple overtakes and keeping up with the riders ahead. Despite some risks due to the crowded group, Bertelle managed to finish in 14th place, scoring more points and recovering several positions from his starting grid spot.

Riders Comments

A more difficult race than expected for Matteo Bertelle, though he was partially satisfied with his comeback: “The race was tough, also because after yesterday's crash, I lost some confidence since I didn't understand the mistake. However, the changes we made to the bike helped because I was doing quite well during the race. In the last few laps, I lost some feeling with the rear tire. I knew I could have finished further up, but considering where we started, we still made some progress. Now we head to Thailand, where I felt good last time, and we'll see how it goes with these new tires.”

David Almansa returned to the box puzzled after what happened on the track: “The race was complicated, and I’m struggling to understand what happened and the mistake I made. I still got back on track after the incident and managed some good laps, but towards the end, the bike stopped, and I had to return to the box.”