Top ten for Moreira in Brazil Sprint race
Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton SennaHome hero Diogo Moreira took a top ten finish in his maiden Brazilian MotoGP Sprint
Despite some delays, the first Sprint Race at the Grand Prix of Brazil thrilled the fans at the crowded Autodromo Internacional de Goiania – Ayrton Senna. Dry conditions gave the Honda riders plenty of insight into what to expect on Sunday as both riders aim to repeat their progress, and promise when Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) topped the Practice session, from the weekend thus far.
Having topped Practice, Zarco immediately made it into Q2, whereas his Pro Honda LCR teammate Diogo Moreira and Honda HRC Castrol duo Luca Marini and Joan Mir all fought it out in Q1.
Luca Marini experienced two crashes on Saturday, something unheard of for MotoGP’s most consistent rider. A fall at Turn 1 in the morning and then a more costly fall at Turn 4 during Q1 meant the Italian would start down in 19th for the Sprint. Undeterred, a lightning start and quick action to avoid a slow starting Aldeguer quickly saw Marini rise through the ranks. Closing the opening lap on the edge of the top ten, the #10 attached himself to home hero Diogo Moreira to try and close down Bagnaia ahead. Taking 11th at the line, Marini had hoped for more but was content overall given the complications of his Saturday.
Having recovered some of his energy after a solid night of rest, Joan Mir has competitive from the start of Saturday and threatened the top two in Q1. Lining up in 13th ultimately, Mir was able to gain several positions when the lights went out on the fast-starting Honda RC213V. Lady luck once again abandoned Mir, contact with another rider sent him wide and into the dirty part of the circuit, crashing as a result. Zarco also suffered a DNF with a crash eight laps from the end.
Now the main event - the 31 lap Grand Prix of Brazil - gets underway at 1500h local time tomorrow; a chance to head to Texas with positivity and extra motivation. If ambient conditions remain the same as Saturday, it will be a physically demanding race around MotoGP's newest circuit.
"It was a good day today. I learned a lot, and it was really useful to stay with the group. We need to keep finishing races and spend more time on the bike. I still have to improve my understanding of the lines, braking points, and especially tyre management. In the Sprint, everyone pushes from the first lap, so I need to better understand how to manage everything. We’re ready and excited for tomorrow".
"It was a good day today. I learned a lot, and it was really useful to stay with the group. We need to keep finishing races and spend more time on the bike. I still have to improve my understanding of the lines, braking points, and especially tyre management. In the Sprint, everyone pushes from the first lap, so I need to better understand how to manage everything. We’re ready and excited for tomorrow".
“At the start I was able to start really well and for the opening laps I pushed really hard to overtake some of the guys. It was OK but the front tyre did not behave as I was expecting, so this limited our potential quite a bit. For tomorrow we need to analyse everything and see how we can improve this, with the setting or with how things are prepared. I made a mistake this morning, touching the wet spot at Turn 1 and then pushing too much into Turn 4 because I knew Q2 was possible. Was a disaster starting from the back and really gave us an uphill battle. MotoGP Sports did a good job to have the race today even with a strange situation.”
“At the start I was able to start really well and for the opening laps I pushed really hard to overtake some of the guys. It was OK but the front tyre did not behave as I was expecting, so this limited our potential quite a bit. For tomorrow we need to analyse everything and see how we can improve this, with the setting or with how things are prepared. I made a mistake this morning, touching the wet spot at Turn 1 and then pushing too much into Turn 4 because I knew Q2 was possible. Was a disaster starting from the back and really gave us an uphill battle. MotoGP Sports did a good job to have the race today even with a strange situation.”
“Mixed feelings today. In the morning we were able to be quite competitive in terms of pace, especially with the used tyre. In Qualifying, we were right on the limit to advance and our lap time would have put us in a strong position on the grid if we were directly in Q2. My condition is still not perfect, in the morning I have a lot more energy and power than in the afternoon. As for the race, we started well but Raul Fernandez overtook me in not the best way, I had to go wide and on the dirty part of the track I crashed. If we can achieve a good result tomorrow, no one will remember today.”
“Mixed feelings today. In the morning we were able to be quite competitive in terms of pace, especially with the used tyre. In Qualifying, we were right on the limit to advance and our lap time would have put us in a strong position on the grid if we were directly in Q2. My condition is still not perfect, in the morning I have a lot more energy and power than in the afternoon. As for the race, we started well but Raul Fernandez overtook me in not the best way, I had to go wide and on the dirty part of the track I crashed. If we can achieve a good result tomorrow, no one will remember today.”
"I was unlucky in the Sprint from the very beginning. Another rider had an issue, spun, and went sideways, and in trying to avoid him I lost many positions. In the first two laps I was able to regain positions and get back into the fight, but after that my pace wasn’t strong enough to catch Marini. Then I made a mistake, ran wide, and crashed due to a lack of grip. I’m fine, and we’ll try again tomorrow".
"I was unlucky in the Sprint from the very beginning. Another rider had an issue, spun, and went sideways, and in trying to avoid him I lost many positions. In the first two laps I was able to regain positions and get back into the fight, but after that my pace wasn’t strong enough to catch Marini. Then I made a mistake, ran wide, and crashed due to a lack of grip. I’m fine, and we’ll try again tomorrow".
