VR46, black Saturday: double zero in the Sprint at Le Mans. And what a scary fall for Diggia

Nightmare day

The French Sprint could not have gone worse for the VR46 team. At Le Mans both Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli ended their race in the gravel, causing the Tavullia team a bitter double zero. Particularly heavy, in terms of the world championship standings, was the fall of Di Giannantonio, which happened during the fourth lap. The Roman rider, who had qualified in fourth position, unfortunately got off to a very bad start and was immediately ‘sucked in’ by the group. Then, in an attempt to quickly climb back up, the slide came.

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“We know that for me it is sometimes difficult to start really strong because of my position on the bike and today in the Sprint I did not start well – admitted Di Giannantonio after the race – from there it was all a consequence. In the first laps we are always very close and we have soft tires, so we all go very fast and it is difficult to overtake. I was trying to make space to prepare the line for an overtake, I leaned the bike one degree more and it closed. Anyway, in bad luck, we must be happy that everything went well because I fell in the chicane and it could have been very dangerous. I really have to thank Franco [Morbidelli], because he made a great move to avoid me at that point. The start and the fall were the first mistakes made so far, but these are the races. For tomorrow it will be important to start well and, once in the group, we can fight. The weather will be a big unknown, but we can be in the game in any condition”. After this zero Di Giannantonio dropped to fourth place in the World Championship, one point behind Pedro Acosta.

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After dodging his teammate with a great reflex, Franco Morbidelli also ended his day tasting the gravel of Le Mans: “It was a complicated Saturday – admitted Morbido – we are struggling with rear grip, the feeling is not enough to be fast. We are working a lot on all aspects of the bike and we have to put the pieces together, but we see small improvements. Unfortunately, the Sprint was unlucky, I am just happy I managed to avoid Fabio, who was very close to me when he fell. It went well. After his fall, I lost five positions, so the hope of scoring points vanished. For tomorrow, we will try to see how my feeling will be and try to improve in any condition, both wet and dry”. 

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