Jonas Folger is experiencing a pretty grueling stint as another replacement for Spaniard Pol Espargaro at this weekend’s Gran Premio d’Italia at the demanding Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.
A hard day in the office for GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team rider Jonas Folger. Moreover, for the first time in several years, Mugello is definitely not an easy task. Folger struggled again today to get grips aboard the KTM RC16 at the track surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside. In qualifying he set his fastest lap of the weekend so far in 1’47.806, but the 29-year-old German still had to line up at the rear end of the grid.
In the afternoon, Folger started in his fourth sprint but struggled to find grip throughout the entire 11-lap distance. He was not as fast as he would have liked and finished 21st. On Sunday he will have another chance to get the race his way in the main race of the weekend, which starts at 14:00.
#94 Jonas FOLGER (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, KTM RC16)
Grid position: 23 / Sprint: P21
“It was a difficult Saturday, which I had not imagined. Nevertheless, I am disappointed about my performance in the sprint, although massive rear grip problems were the main problem. I almost felt like I had a rain tyre at the rear. In addition, I feel that I often cannot ride the same rhythm in the race as I am able to do in practice sessions. That is why it is also not possible to implement our pace, which is not so bad at all. I tried to play with the mappings, first riding a bit softer, then a bit more aggressively, but I never found the right way. Our goal is to be as fast in the race as we are during practice sessions, so we will keep analyzing the data and see if we can find a solution by tomorrow. Still, a big thank you to my team for the good work they always do.”
#ItalianGP - MotoGP™ Qualifying Results:
1 Francesco BAGNAIA / ITA / Ducati Lenovo Team / Ducati / 1´44.855
2 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 1´44.933 +0.078
3 Alex MARQUEZ / SPA / Gresini Racing MotoGP / Ducati / 1´45.007 +0.152
23 #94 Jonas FOLGER / GER / GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 / KTM / 1´47.806 (Q1)
#ItalianGP - MotoGP™ Sprint (11 Laps):
1 Francesco BAGNAIA / ITA / Ducati Lenovo Team / Ducati / 19´41.183
2 Marco BEZZECCHI / ITA / Mooney VR46 Racing Team / Ducati / +0.369
3 Jorge MARTIN / SPA / Prima Pramac Racing / Ducati / +0.952
21 #94 Jonas FOLGER / GER / GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 / KTM / +46.189
MotoGP™ Wolrd Standing:
1 Francesco BAGNAIA / ITA / Ducati / 106
2 Marco BEZZECCHI / ITA / Ducati / 102
3 Jorge MARTIN / SPA / Ducati / 87
20 #94 Jonas FOLGER / GER / KTM / 7
#ItalianGP - MotoGP™ Time Schedule for Sunday June 11th (CEST):
09:45 - 09:55 Warm Up
14:00 Race (23 Laps – 120.635 km)
