What a weekend for Sky Racing Team VR46! With a pole position and a double on Sunday, the team is establishing itself as the best in the Moto2 field.
After securing the first podium of his career at the Sachsenring, Luca marini arrived more motivated than ever in Brno. He started slowly on Friday with eighth and eleventh places in FP1 and FP2, before revealing himself on Saturday. Author of the second fastest time in FP3, he then went for the first pole position of his career in qualifying. There was therefore every hope that he would win his first victory, as his half-brother Valentino Rossi had done on this circuit.
Although he gave everything and put on a show throughout the race and especially on the last lap, Marini ultimately had to settle for second place. With this second consecutive podium, he now asserts himself as one of the strong new drivers in the category: “I am really happy with these two consecutive podiums and the first pole position of my career. I had fun, I surpassed a lot, the strategy studied with the team paid off and even physically my feelings are much better. The last lap was crazy, I tried everything to overtake Miguel (Oliveira), I had a very aggressive style although it's not my habit. I gave it my all in the last corner, but I made a mistake: I passed second and Miguel overtook me. I have to thank Pecco, for his help, all the technicians, the mechanics, Sky and the VR46 Riders Academy because we are doing an incredible job and proving that we are a great team. »
For its part, Francesco Bagnaia also had an excellent weekend, dominating the tests. First third in FP1 then second in FP2, he then led FP3. However, he fell back a little in qualifying, being unable to do better than sixth.
Also author of a very good race, he unfortunately had more difficulty following Oliveira and Marini, but managed to beat Baldassarri to finish third. Despite this podium, he leaves the Championship lead to Oliveira by only two points, which upset him at the finish: “It's a shame to have lost the lead in the Championship, but I'm still happy with my podium after the end of the Sachsenring race which didn't go as planned. We worked a lot this weekend, I didn't have the feeling I wanted with the front and I started to lose grip after a few laps. I tested a small change during the Warm Up and managed to be competitive. We were all very close and Balda was very aggressive when overtaking, costing me a lot of time. I tried to keep pace with those in front and get back to braking. We must continue in this direction and become as regular as at the start of the season. Our team is progressing and I am also very happy for Luca. »
