A SUPERB HALF-RACE IS NOT ENOUGH, ANOTHER DNF FOR MARQUEZ
It could have been the right Sunday, as the feeling with the bike was excellent and so the race pace. It did not turn out to be the case as Alex Marquez lost the front at the exit of turn three while battling with Marini and Zarco for the podium. As he tumbled into the gravel, all chances to rejoin the race also faded away. It was a nightmare weekend overall for the Spaniard, who will get another shot at gold next weekend at the Sachsenring.
A bit of improvement came from Fabio Di Giannantonio, once again 14th at the line but able to bag two points today (being the full-distance race) that give him fresh confidence ahead of the upcoming trips to Germany and the Netherlands. The race pace is a certainty, so the goal is to improve his chances by qualifying better.
DNF – ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (8th in the championship standings with 57 points)
“A real shame. After so much bad luck we decided to go all-in for the podium. Maybe I should have been happy with a top-five finish but I wanted to give it all and try. I made a small mistake at turn three as I was too much on the inside and touched the white line. The team’s home GP was important for me, too. We showed once again that we could hang in there but I need more experience with the bike. When the grip level is high everything is good, but when it’s very hot I struggle to find the limit.”
14th – FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (15th in the championship standings with 26 points)
“We had another great start and battled with a big group. It was a positive race with a good pace especially in the second half, even though a technical problem in the last five laps prevented us from making one or two more positions. We got plenty of data however for the next races.”
