The Italtrans Racing team had a good weekend in Austin. If the young Andrea Locatelli continues his progress and comes home happy, Mattia Pasini had a more difficult race and tried to save the furniture so as not to lose too many points in the Championship.
Apart from a complicated FP1, Mattia Pasini has always been at the forefront this weekend. Qualified third, he set out to fight for victory as usual.
After a good start, he was second, behind the wheels of Álex Márquez. Unfortunately, a poor tire choice compromised his race, and he began to downshift. Struggling to stay in the top 5, he finally finished seventh.
If the result in itself is not a poor performance, Pasini does not return home satisfied because he has lost the lead in the Championship and leaves ten points behind the leader: “Unfortunately we ventured to choose a harder tire, and this choice did not prove to be a winning one because I was not able to be as fast as I would have liked. I raced on the defensive, thinking about bringing back the best possible result for the Championship, where I am now second and very close to Bagnaia. Now we will rest for a week before tackling the European races where it will be important to make the difference. »
His teammate Andrea Locatelli, for its part, continues to progress. Arriving last year in Moto2, his first season was complicated and he was only able to score points on only three occasions. This year, however, seems to be going better for him.
After a mixed first Grand Prix in Qatar, he scored his first point of the season in Argentina, and continued his momentum in Austin. Quite far away throughout the weekend, he made a good comeback in the race. Starting twenty-first, he finished fourteenth and scored two new points: “I'm relatively happy and satisfied because I progressed throughout the weekend. Unfortunately I started far back on the grid, and I couldn't do my best. I had a little trouble with the tires, but towards the end my feeling improved. Despite everything, I took two small points which make me confident for the next Grand Prix. »
