Focus on the race pace on Misano’s Friday

Balda and Team Go Eleven had a solid Day 1 at the Misano circuit, focusing on race pace and finding the right feeling with used tyres.

In FP1, the Italian rider felt comfortable from the first laps, finding positive feedback compared to the tests done here a few weeks ago; as the laps went by, his pace improved, especially in the third sector. After a short pit stop and an electronics adjustment, Lorenzo set a 1:33.334, good for sixth place overall, with over 20 laps of tyres.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1   N. Bulega   1.32.733
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 0.059
P 3   S. Lowes    + 0.306
…
P 6   L. Baldassarri   + 0.601

Temperatures rose in the afternoon, reaching around 50 degrees Celsius on the asphalt. Conditions changed a bit, but all the riders managed to improve their lap times. Balda immediately entered the session with determination, setting his pace at 33.5; lap after lap, he improved a few tenths in each sector until he reached 33.2. For the second stint, the technicians made a change in the front forks, making the bike more stable, perhaps losing a little grip at the front; towards the end of the session, with over 25 laps on the tyres, Balda set another 33.3, a sign that the pace was there. He made no tyre changes in the final minutes, unlike almost all the riders on the grid.

Free Practice 2: 
P 1   N. Bulega    1.32.235
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 0.166
P 3   Y. Montella    + 0.576
…
P 8   L. Baldassarri   + 1.020

Tomorrow, it will be crucial to work on the fastest lap; the goal this morning will be to find a good starting position for the races. Temperatures are expected to rise, with the risk of slightly altering the conditions on the track. All that’s left to do is work hard this evening and look forward to tomorrow, when the first points of the weekend will be awarded!

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider): 
“It was a positive day at Misano. Aside from the position, which is partly due to no tyre changes in the last minutes, I’m satisfied with the rest of the day. We made a major change in the afternoon, and my best time has always come after many laps, even beyond race distance. We still have a few improvements to make. I want to see the data to see if this change has given us anything concrete, then we’ll try to find the right setting that will allow me to push even harder. Tomorrow morning we’ll focus on the fastest lap. Qualifying is important, and I want to start as far ahead as possible!”

Lorenzo crashes out of fourth place in Race One

Saturday at their home had a really bitter end for Lorenzo Baldassarri and Team Go Eleven, who crashed out of Race 1 while comfortably in fourth place, trying to catch Montella by a few tenths for the podium. It’s a painful zero, and they need to bounce back as soon as possible.

The weekend up until Race 1 had been excellent. Balda and his crew made a big step forward between Friday and Saturday, so much so that in FP3 the number 34 rider proved fast and consistent race rythm.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1   S. Lowes   1.31.929
P 2   Y. Montella   + 0.046
P 3   N. Bulega    + 0.057
P 4   A. Lowes   + 0.333
P 5    L. Baldassarri   + 0.479

Qualifying was another excellent session for the yellow Ducati. Balda immediately found his rhythm, setting a low 32 on his first attempt, thanks to a strong first and third sectors, two of the trickiest spots at Misano. He pitted in, then went out, and on the first lap set the first two sectors in line with the pole position, a few thousandths ahead, then made a small mistake in the third sector that forced him to abort his lap. On his second attempt, he secured fifth place and an excellent second row. Little news: it was our best Superpole on the Misano track.

Superpole: 
P 1   N. Bulega   1.31.343
P 2   I. Lecuona    + 0.227
P 3   A. Lowes     + 0.657
P 4   Y. Montella    + 0.710
P 5    L. Baldassarri   + 0.875

In Race 1, Balda had a good start, defended his position, and on the second lap, he dived inside Alex Lowes at the Turn 1. He secured fourth place, in pursuit of the podium. Montella pulled away, but Balda kept his pace, tenth after tenth. On the fifth lap, however, his dreams were over; a little crash at Turn 5. The rider was ok, but a mistake weighed heavily on the standings and morale.

Race 1: 
P 1   N. Bulega   32’40.418
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 6.117
P 3   Y. Montella    + 13.823
…
DNF   L. Baldassarri  

All that’s left to do is get up from this day. Crashing when you’re in front hurts even more. We need to rediscover the calm and consistency of the early season results. Tomorrow is a new day, with two chances to prove just what we lost today!

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider): 
“Everything went well until qualifying. I’m sorry for the mistake in the race in front of my home crowd. I was trying to chase the podium and I felt good. I knew I had a good pace, but in Turn 5, as I changed gear, front closed and i couldn’t save it. We’re fast these days, but we’re not able to bring home the results. Luckily, there are two more races tomorrow. I can’t wait to get out on track and reset today!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“Another crash while we were fourth and fighting for the podium was unwelcome. I’m sorry for the mistake and for Balda; we’d done everything well up until Race 1, but perhaps he was a bit on the limit in chasing Montella for the podium. We’re definitely fast, we have the pace, now we need to get back and get the most out of tomorrow!”

Fifth place in the Superpole Race, but bad luck in Sunday’s Race Two

In motorsport, when a negative streak begins, it seems never-ending; and Sunday at Misano confirmed it. Balda is incredibly fast, his race pace over the distance is podium-worthy, but today contact knocked us out of the top spots, culminating in a rather unfortunate episode.

In the warm-up, rider #34 manages the ten minutes available to regain confidence after Saturday’s day; the feeling isn’t the best, especially at the front, but it’s just enough time to shake off the bad memories of the crash.

Warm Up: 
P 1   N. Bulega   1.32.098
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 0.747
P 3   A. Bassani    + 0.784
…
P 11   L. Baldassarri   + 1.435

In the Superpole Race, Balda didn’t get a great start and got a bit stuck into the pack. He overtakes some opponents on the first lap, then engages in a fierce battle with Locatelli: they swap positions several times, then on lap seven he gets on the inside at Turn 4. He makes a great overtake, sets the pace, and closes in on Surra and Oliveira, who were battling for the top five. With a series of personal best laps, he gains two seconds in three laps, then on the final lap the Portuguese rider makes a mistake, giving Balda the position. Sixth at the finish line, he finds out in the pits that Surra has been given a penalty, which gives him fifth place. He keeps his starting position for Race Two, and makes a great comeback!

Superpole Race: 
P 1   N. Bulega   15’27.153
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 1.133
P 3  Y. Montella   + 7.422
P 4   A. Bassani   + 11.940
P 5   L. Baldassarri    + 13.754

In Race 2, Lorenzo lost a few positions at the start, then two heavy contacts, one with Oliveira and a very risky one with Bautista, dropped him to the back of the grid. Head down, he came back showing a stunning pace; in the battle with Vierge, they touched, and his right boot got stuck on the Spaniard’s Yamaha, opening completely, so much so that Balda had to stop at the side of the track to put it back on. The group sped away, and he rejoined the track and rode fast; consistently the second-fastest on the track, similar to Iker Lecuona, he lost two and a half seconds to Bulega in 17 laps, essentially nothing. He finished fifteenth, still earning a point, but the disappointment was immense, perhaps more so today than on other occasions.

Race 2: 
P 1   N. Bulega   32’49.765
P 2   I. Lecuona   + 5.101
P 3   Y. Montella   + 14.016
…
P 15   L. Baldassarri    + 34.074

Now the only important thing is to reset the last two weekends in terms of results, starting from the feeling and confidence shown on Sunday both here at Misano and Aragon. This is also what racing is all about; you must never give up!

The Go Eleven team extends a special thanks to everyone present at the circuit, the guests, sponsors, and partners who made the home race experience truly special; thanks to the 76,000 people in attendance!

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Rider): 
“We leave Misano with a bitter taste in our mouths. Our pace was in line with the podium, and in Race Two I felt really good. I saw my pace once I restarted and was clearly faster than the third-place rider. I was very efficient on used tyres, and today confirmed that. Unfortunately, I had a few contacts in the early laps, and coming out of the Quercia I touched again another rider, opening my boot. I almost lost it and was forced to stop to put it back on. I restarted, but by then everyone was far away. I’m taking home the feeling on the bike and the pace I had on the track, and I want to restart from that!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager): 
“We really wanted to do well here at home. The fans welcomed us with great warmth and enthusiasm. So many came to say hello, and that filled us with joy. The race didn’t go as we’d hoped; the disappointment is even greater given the speed Balda showed. He was riding very fast, and his times easily could have given him the podium. Unfortunately, it was a bad day, aside from the Superpole Race, where we’re holding onto fifth place. Now we have two weeks off and then we fly to the UK to get back the results that slipped away from us here at Misano!”