Strong Saturday for Moreira at Mugello
Autodromo Internazionale del MugelloDiogo Moreira enjoyed a battle at the sharp end of the field during the Mugello Sprint race
After an impressive Q2 session, Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira qualified eighth on the grid and lined up for the Sprint race from the third row. The Brazilian made a tremendous start, immediately moving into the podium positions and battled with several strong rivals. Despite struggling with tyre wear, Moreira managed to hang on to tenth place at the chequered and delivered one of his best performances of the season.
Overnight adjustments by Honda HRC’s engineers gave Luca Marini an improved feeling as Saturday in Mugello began. The #10 was closer to the front, but more was needed as Marini captured 16th on the grid and left himself with another comeback to perform. Launching off the line with his usual precision, the Italian made up a handful of positions through the opening sector of the 11-lap Sprint race and lapped consistently. 13th at the end of the race, Marini gained valuable data to improve the setup and handling of his Honda RC213V for Sunday’s main event. Marini will start Sunday’s race from 19th after receiving a three-place grid penalty during Q1.
Starting from 22nd on the grid, Cal Crutchlow made a strong start and stayed with the main field, remaining consistent and determined to make the most of the race. The Castrol LCR replacement rider had his work cut out adapting to the demands of Grand Prix racing again, and crossed the line in 19th place.
Qualifying in 15th with a best time of 1’45.274, Joan Mir had cut another three tenths off his best time from Friday. With a number of big names ahead of him, the #36 was determined to make a comeback when the lights went out but Mir’s race was compromised almost immediately as intense vibrations restricted his performance. The vibrations worsened as the race went on, Mir electing to return to the garage with his Honda RC213V and retire from the race.
Sunday’s 23-lap race will be an intense affair as the ambient conditions are expected to once again climb as the lights go out at 14:00 Local Time.
I had fun today and really enjoyed the Sprint. The final result was not what we wanted, but I struggled with tyre wear and just tried to do my best until the end. We are working really well and improving race after race, which is the most important thing. We are on the right path.
I had fun today and really enjoyed the Sprint. The final result was not what we wanted, but I struggled with tyre wear and just tried to do my best until the end. We are working really well and improving race after race, which is the most important thing. We are on the right path.
My feeling with everything improved this morning, but still not enough to make big improvements. Like always I couldn’t take the maximum profit in Qualifying because there was a lot of movement, so we started down the grid again. I’ve been practicing my race starts a lot and again we made a good start to the race and these races coming through the field are enjoyable in the moment because of the battles, but we are not targeting these positions. Tomorrow we will need an even better start to recover these three extra positions!
My feeling with everything improved this morning, but still not enough to make big improvements. Like always I couldn’t take the maximum profit in Qualifying because there was a lot of movement, so we started down the grid again. I’ve been practicing my race starts a lot and again we made a good start to the race and these races coming through the field are enjoyable in the moment because of the battles, but we are not targeting these positions. Tomorrow we will need an even better start to recover these three extra positions!
I had a lot of fun today. We did our job, which was to ride the bike, complete the Sprint, and provide valuable feedback to the team. I struggled physically because this is a demanding track, and I'm not fully accustomed to the racing pace and intensity of the regular riders. In any case, we've been improving session after session, which was one of our goals as well. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
I had a lot of fun today. We did our job, which was to ride the bike, complete the Sprint, and provide valuable feedback to the team. I struggled physically because this is a demanding track, and I'm not fully accustomed to the racing pace and intensity of the regular riders. In any case, we've been improving session after session, which was one of our goals as well. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
I had really intense vibrations coming from somewhere, we are checking to understand the cause. Even without them it has obviously been a really tough weekend for us so far after what we did in Barcelona. I wanted to try and finish the Sprint for the team; to get information to improve on Sunday but we couldn’t manage it. Tomorrow will also be tough, but we keep trying.
I had really intense vibrations coming from somewhere, we are checking to understand the cause. Even without them it has obviously been a really tough weekend for us so far after what we did in Barcelona. I wanted to try and finish the Sprint for the team; to get information to improve on Sunday but we couldn’t manage it. Tomorrow will also be tough, but we keep trying.
