Jonas Folger started the Gran Premio d’Italia with a positive Friday though, he still sees room for improvement.
After a break of three race-free weekends, the MotoGP™ World Championship resumes these days with round six of the season in the beautiful Tuscany, Italy. Jonas Folger will once again replace Spaniard Pol Espargaro, who continues to recover from injuries sustained in Portugal at the end of March.
The Mugello circuit is picturesquely nestled in the hilly landscape of the Tuscany region and enjoys great popularity among all participants - the Gran Premio d’Italia at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello has enjoyed classic status since years. Jonas Folger returned to the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team for the fourth time, with the aim of getting closer to the rest of the top-class grid. The 29-year-old German enjoyed his day with a positive session this morning, at the end of which he felt quite good. After getting used to the fast track and finding his rhythm, he was able to follow other riders and learn something from them.
In the afternoon Folger had a little more trouble finding his rhythm at a track with much increased temperatures and was unable to further improve his time. So, his best effort from this morning in 1’48.482 remained his fastest lap time of the day. Together with his team he will analyze the data of the day and hopes to improve in some areas to have a good qualifying tomorrow before the sprint in the afternoon.
The MotoGP™ action begins on Saturday morning at 10:10am local time with a free practice session, followed by the qualifying heats Q1 and Q2. In the afternoon, the eleven-lap sprint is on the agenda. Starting time is at 3:00pm.
#94 Jonas FOLGER (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, KTM RC16)
P1: P24 - 1´48.482 (18/18) / P2: P24 - 1´49.160 (6/21)
“I felt quite good from the beginning today, trying to get to grips with this super-fast and flowing track and to feel the bike. The first practice was quite good, especially towards the end with the soft tyres. In the afternoon the grip level increased and I struggled a bit more to control my bike, so we need to analyze and understand why. Overall, though, it was a positive day, and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
#ItalianGP - MotoGP™ Combined Practice Times (P1/P2):
1 Francesco BAGNAIA / ITA / Ducati Lenovo Team / Ducati / 1´45.436 (P2)
2 Marco BEZZECCHI / ITA / Mooney VR46 Racing Team / Ducati / 1´45.499 +0.063 (P2)
3 Alex RINS / SPA / LCR Honda Castrol / Honda / 1´45.517 +0.081 (P2)
24 #94 Jonas FOLGER / GER / GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 / KTM / 1´48.482 +3.046 (P1)
#ItalianGP - MotoGP™ Time Schedule for Saturday June 10th (CEST):
10:10 - 10:40 FP
10:50 - 11:05 Q1
11:15 - 11:30 Q2
15:00 Sprint (11 Laps - 57.695 km)
