Andrea Iannone just 3 tenths from the top ten
Friday at Portimao ended with eighteen riders within a second, a factor that rarely happens on such breath-taking tracks; many protagonists made mistakes, crashes or technical problems that affected Day 1 at the Autodromo do Algarve.
In FP 1 Andrea Iannone made the most of the use of the SC2 tyre on the front, thus saving a set for the rest of the weekend (remembering that tyres are limited); the feeling with this type of tyre wasn’t optimal, so much so that on the second exit he lost the front in Turn 8. No problems for the rider and little damage to the Ducati Panigale V4-R, which was then easily repaired by the mechanics. In the morning the main difficulties appeared in the first and second sector, while in the last part of the track Andrea was in line with the Top 8. The lack of feeling with the front tyre, however, did not allow the rider from Vasto to push and set a good lap time.
Free Practice 1:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 1.40.777
P 2 G. Gerloff + 0.391
P 3 A. Bautista + 0.522
…
P 16 A. Iannone + 1.525
In FP 2, with the new tyre, the front problems seemed to be resolved right away, then working on preload and springs. Towards the end of the session, the number 29 improved the first sector, keeping the last ones in line with the leaders, but accumulating most of the gap in T 2; here the famous Portimao hill always creates a lot of movement on the Panigale V4. A good final stint brought Iannone to seven tenths from the first position, without however exploiting the full potential of the tyres. There is still work to be done on the repeatability of the lap time, shaving off a few tenths along the track. After a full day of testing, tomorrow morning Andrea will have more references for the track in Portimao.
Free Practice 2:
P 1 D. Petrucci 1.40.681
P 2 A. Bautista + 0.023
P 3 T. Razgatlioglu + 0.102
…
P 15 A. Iannone + 0.726
Andrea Iannone (Rider):
An unlucky Saturday as turn one betrays Andrea Iannone
Unlucky Saturday in Portimao, where Andrea Iannone and Team Go Eleven ended Race 1 early due to a crash in turn one, right in the heart of a great comeback from fifteenth place on the grid to eighth. On this track, the rider from Vasto and his Panigale V4-R faced some difficulties, but the solutions found in the race showed an excellent pace that bodes well for tomorrow’s competitions.
In FP 3 Andrea Iannone signed his best time of 1.41.0 with used race tyres, proving to be satisfied from the first laps. Having improved the first sector, there is still something to be found in T 2, mainly in the section of the hill. The strong point remains the management of the last part of the track, fundamental in the race to overtake. Unfortunately, towards the end of the session, number 29 was unable to complete a lap on the soft tyre, setting a significantly improved first sector, then a mistake at turn 5 forced him to slow down.
Free Practice 3:
P 1 D. Petrucci 1.40.316
P 2 A. Lowes + 0.254
P 3 A. Bautista + 0.260
…
P 13 A. Iannone + 0.761
Qualifying, this time, did not smile on Team Go Eleven; in the two time attacks Andrea was unable to put together a perfect lap, showing a good speed in some sectors but in different laps, so much so that the ideal time at the end of the session was almost half a second better. Probably the difficulty in consistency on this track, combined with the movements of the bike, caused the fifteenth position on the starting grid. It was a shame, because in the “good” lap Iannone turned on a first red sector, under the first reference; lap then not completed due to traffic in the second sector. In Portimao, fortunately, the track has some overtaking hotspots, so there is room to recover.
For Sunday the goal is to have a good Superpole Race to climb the starting grid. Starting in the top nine would help to try to gain positions.
Andrea Iannone (Rider):
Sweet ending Sunday in Portimao, the hard work done throughout the weekend finally gave the good results. Andrea Iannone showed an extraordinary performance in Race 2, arriving just outside the podium. Opening his eyes in the morning in fifteenth position and reaching fourth at the end of the day is synonymous with growth, determination and three words that Iannone knows well: Never give up!
From the Warm Up, the potential of this last day in the Algarve was clear: yesterday’s used tyre, seven laps in a row between the high 40/41.0, arriving close to the Superpole times. Another step made in the first sector, which has thus become one of the strong points of this track. A few small further adjustments could still turn the weekend around.
Warm Up:
P 1 T. Razgatlioglu 1’40.116
P 2 A. Lowes + 0.197
P 3 N. Bulega + 0.344
…
P 7 A. Iannone + 0.570
The Superpole Race is the key to have a positive Sunday. Getting into the top nine means being able to aim for something ambitious in Race 2, recovering rows on the starting grid. Andrea passes three riders in front of him at the start and joins a Yamaha train, behind Aegerter and Rea. In the first laps he makes good use of the rear SCX, the softest solution, recovering another two places and moving into eighth position. A contact makes the Go Eleven rider go wide in the duel with Vierge for seventh place, leaving a space open for Aegerter. The last lap is one of those heart-stopping ones, many exchanges of positions that lead Andrea Iannone to cross the finish line in ninth position. Goal achieved, one point earned and Race 2 to be faced with a completely different spirit, with the awareness of starting in the slipstream of the group of the best.
This concludes the Portimao race, which started with some difficulties already on Friday and was conditioned by a not perfect qualifying. With the improvements made on this day, it would have been difficult to ask for more. This year it seems that the solution is always found a little late, but let’s remember that many tracks are new, there is no basic set-up from the previous year, and Andrea needs to find the right references and the feeling with the tyres starting almost from scratch on each track. It doesn’t matter where you start or how difficult the road is, what matters is not giving up, working and believing, until the end!
Andrea Iannone (Rider):
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