Friday

Magny-Cours is a complicated track, where the Pata Go Eleven team and Andrea Iannone struggled to adapt last year. This year, the feeling immediately seemed better, the times were faster, but some difficulties recurred, both in terms of electronics setup and adaptation, especially in the first and third sectors. The top 15 finished a day focused on race pace, without changing tyres; a half-second ideal time shows that the perfect lap wasn’t achieved.

In FP1, Andrea took to the track with the SC0 solution, the hardest tyre, completing 18 laps, improving towards the end of the session. The most difficult sectors were the first and third, where most of the gap is accumulated. A few setup changes and some electronics requests led to a good improvement, but there is still a gap to close, considering that almost all the riders are within a second from the top.

Free Practice 1: 
P 1    T. Razgatlioglu    1.39.743
P 2    S. Lowes  + 0.222
P 3    N. Bulega   + 0.253
…
P 16    A. Iannone   + 0.978

For FP2, a major change was made to the front, which didn’t yield the desired results, so the staff opted to come back to the morning bike. We also tested the 126 rear tyre, which proved much faster, becoming the best choice for the race. There was an excellent step forward in the second and third sectors, accompanied by a solid final stretch. The first sector, where about half of the final gap is accumulated, still needs to be fixed. On the last flying lap, when there was a good chance of improvement, Andrea had a light crash without any consequences. No tyre changes, just work on race distance; tomorrow will be time attack time!

Free Practice 2:
P 1   N. Bulega   1.35.428
P 2   S. Lowes    + 0.400
P 3   A. Locatelli  + 0.414
…
P 15   A. Iannone   + 1.512

Having established a good mechanical set-up, the work now shifts to the electronics, especially with the 126 rear, where the bike becomes much more nervous and less linear; the goal for tomorrow is to achieve a good qualifying result. It will all be down to the millisecond mark, as happens every year here at Magny Cours!

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“I’m happy to be back on the bike after the summer break; here at Magny-Cours it’s always a bit complicated because it’s a track I don’t know well. Today I started cautiously in the morning, then in the afternoon we improved in the second half of the session. We never changed tyres, we focused on race pace. Towards the end I managed to improve the second and fourth sectors, but I still haven’t put together a clean lap. In the evening we’ll work on the electronics side. I’m lacking consistency when entering and exiting corners, but in terms of setup we have a good base. I think the potential is good, we’ve already been faster than last year, but let’s see how much we can improve for tomorrow!”

Saturday

When everything finally seemed to be heading towards a positive weekend, knowing the importance of qualifying in modern Superbike, a crash, once again in the early laps, forced Andrea Iannone and Team Pata Go Eleven out, without any fault, due to another rider’s mistake. A nasty contusion to his right leg, nothing broken, but fingers crossed he can compete in the remaining two rounds here at Magny-Cours. Today’s qualifying masterpiece remains, redeeming a difficult Friday with a fifth-place finish achieved with heart, determination, and skill.

In FP3, the rider from Vasto was pleased with the progress made since yesterday, both in terms of setup and electronics. He also showed good race pace and a solid final lap to test the qualifying tyre.

Free Practice 3: 
P 1    T. Razgtlioglu   1.35.497
P 2     A. Lowes   + 0.005
P 3    A. Locatelli   + 0.121
…
P 10   A. Iannone   + 0.933

In Superpole, the team and rider performed perfectly; they decided to take the slipstream of Bulega, but the first two laps were deleted due to yellow flags, Andrea didn’t give up and completed a third lap before coming to the pits. It could have been easy to lose his composure there, when two laps were deleted in qualifying, but number 29 was determined to secure a spot on the front rows. Eighth at the end of his first attempt, the mechanics performed a lightning-fast tyre change, and he was back on track for his second attempt. Here, he completed a near-perfect lap, in line with the front row until the third sector, then finished fifth. He secured a second row start, an excellent position for Race 1 and the Superpole Race.

Superpole:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu  1.34.930
P 2   N. Bulega  + 0.212
P 3   S. Lowes  + 0.352
P 4   A. Lowes   + 0.516
P 5   A. Iannone   + 0.678

Race 1 lasted less than a lap; after a good start, #29 defended his position until Turn 13, where he was hit by another rider’s mistake on the inside, causing a pileup. Race over, a nasty contusion on the right side, but fortunately nothing broken. He still has to undergo a medical fit tomorrow morning before the warm-up, but there’s confidence for the races. It’s a shame because this year, something different always happens at every round, often before he can even show his potential for a few laps of racing.

Race 1:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   33’41.298
P 2    N. Bulega  + 8.597
P 3    A. Lowes   + 10.979
…
DNF    A. Iannone   

We won’t give up, and if his physical condition allows, tomorrow there are two more races with two good chances to achieve good results.

Never give up!

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“Unfortunately, in Race 1 I didn’t even have time to start. I was hit by another bike at Turn 13. These things happen, and I don’t want to fuel the argument, but I want to say that if I were to react the way someone did to me in the past, I wouldn’t be so diplomatic. I took a bad contusion to my right leg; I hope it doesn’t cause me any problems tomorrow. It’s disappointing because today we had the opportunity to do well by starting fifth, after a good qualifying, but this year something always happens!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Today, all we’re left with is the disappointment of not being able to understand our potential in the race. After a qualifying session where the team and rider were almost perfect, both on the track and in terms of timing and tyre changes, finishing fifth, we were hit on the first lap. Obviously, these things happen, and I’m disappointed that sometimes mistakes by other have less discussion then if Andrea make it, especially if they’re repeated in the races. If everything’s okay tomorrow, physically, we’ll try again!”

Sunday

A mixed Sunday at Magny-Cours; a very positive morning, finding an astonishing sixth place in the Superpole Race, battling and defending the position amidst overtaking and clashes. In Race 2, from midway onward, the Pata Go Eleven team suffered a significant drop, loosing several positions, then finishing outside the points zone, due to a penalty for cutting a chicane.

In the Warm Up, the technicians, along with the rider from Vasto, found a good base for the race; unfortunately, the two fastest times were deleted for touching the green, but the real best lap done would have allowed to finish in the top nine on used tyres.

Warm Up:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   1.35.671
P 2   S. Lowes   + 0.039
P 3   N. Bulega   + 0.373
…
P 20   A. Iannone   + 1.942 (best lap deleted due to track limits)

In the Superpole Race, Andrea fought like a lion through every lap, among contacts, overtakes, hard brakings at turn 5, and swapping positions. First, he went one-to-one with Bassani, passing him on the entry to turn 11, then with Alvaro and Rea, until the Northern Irishman touched the rear of the Ducati Pata Go Eleven, losing his balance due to the Spaniard’s crash. Andrea finally regained the position on the Bimota rider and set off in pursuit of Petrucci and Van Der Mark; he gained about a second in two laps, but the race was over. Sixth place, an excellent grid position for race 2, a more than convincing performance with a podium finish pace

Superpole Race:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu   15’59.137
P 2   N. Bulega   + 3.712
P 3   A. Lowes   +  7.674
…
P 6   A. Iannone   + 10.287

Race 2 started with good prospects; an excellent start, then, heading into Turn 5, throughout the weekend, #29 complained of poor traction exiting Turn 3, so much so that he was joined by Van der Mark, who took him slightly wide before heading towards the inside apex; he lost four positions, five with the next overtake by Bautista. Andrea tried to keep up the pace, but towards the midward of the race, he went wide at Turn 5, losing several positions; there, the front tyre began to heat up significantly, losing grip, and some vibrations began to appear. All the data still needs to be verified, but from that point on, the pace picked up, and #29 was forced to finish outside the points zone, due to a long lap for cutting a chicane. Furthermore, from midrace on, the pain in his right leg increased, mainly when changing direction.

Race 2:
P 1   T. Razgatlioglu    33’52.845
P 2   N. Bulega   + 8.087
P 3   A. Lowes   + 12.123
…
P 16   A. Iannone   + 34.476

A mixed weekend in France, highlighted by two excellent performances in the Superpole and Superpole Race. Unfortunately, we missed the final ten laps, perhaps also due to yesterday’s crash, which prevented us from getting useful data. After these two up-and-down days, WorldSBK moves to Aragon, a special venue where Andrea returned to victory last year. Getting back into top form is crucial to try and find a positive, points-rich round!

Andrea Iannone (Rider): 

“Today was two-sided day; an excellent Superpole Race, where I finished sixth, with a very good pace. Towards the end, I was even able to close the gap with the guys ahead. In Race 2, however, I lost positions on the first lap. We were struggling a lot on the straight before Turn 5, where they closed me on the outside. I tried to follow Alvaro, but on lap 9 the front tyre dropped significantly, causing vibrations throughout the bike. Unfortunately, I struggled to stay on the track. I held on until the end, but it was definitely a race below expectations. Physically, I struggled when changing direction; for Aragon, I’ll try to get back to 100%. This weekend, however, we found good speed, and I want to take home the positive results we achieved!”

Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):

“Today once again proves that we’re fast, but we’re not getting the points we deserve. In the Superpole Race, Andrea completed a great race, finishing sixth, fending off every attack. In Race 2, however, from lap 9 – 10, we rose the pace significantly, as if something wasn’t working. The engineers are still analyzing it, and perhaps next week we’ll have a clearer idea. It’s disappointing to bring home so few points, but at least we know we can fight at the front, and we’re taking the positive side. I hope Andrea can fully recover physically for Aragon, where we’ve historically performed very well!”