Always in the top 3
Friday of the Thailand Grand Prix finally officially kicked off the 2026 season, on a Day 1 that proved particularly positive for Fabio Di Giannantonio. Already brilliant in FP1 with the second fastest time set behind a Marco Bezzecchi in splendid form, the Roman rider maintained the ‘front row’ also in Practice, this time with a 3rd place that allowed him to go directly into Q2 for tomorrow’s qualifying.
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It’s only Friday
Satisfaction for the 27-year-old from the VR46 team, who in commenting on his first day of practice preferred to stay with his feet on the ground in view of the upcoming events: “It’s a great start to the season, for sure – he declared – but it’s only the beginning of the year and it’s still Friday, so we need to stay focused. Today we confirmed that what we had done in the tests in Malaysia and in Thailand was very good. Furthermore, I am happy that all the analyses and ideas for the weekend are working, so far. We managed to do a great lap today, but it’s not enough yet and we will try to improve even more tomorrow. For Saturday we don’t have any particular expectations, we just want to continue working like this and have this feeling with the bike.”
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Unlucky practice
Consistent pace also for the Italian-Brazilian Franco Morbidelli, but with a different outcome. Eighth in FP1, #21 lowered his time in Practice, but finished in 13th place and failed to go directly into Q2 by only 52 thousandths: “Today we were unlucky when we did our time attack – he commented – we decided to do it earlier because the conditions were becoming difficult. But at the moment we went out, the conditions were at their worst. In the second time attack, I was riding with the track half wet and then I set my best time with the medium rear tire. We missed Q2 by only 52 thousandths, we lacked a bit of luck. But the feeling and speed are very good, so overall I’m happy and we have the potential to be in Q2. That’s the goal tomorrow.”
Read more Bagnaia: “Time attack with the wrong setup, my mistake”
