Many difficulties and few positive items for the FELO Gresini MotoE team in the round in Austria at the Red Bull Ring. Alessio Finello crashed in the first free practice session causing his left foot to break while Matteo Ferrari crashed in Race 1 and finished ninth in Race 2 for a penalty after the finish line.
The Austrian GP of the MotoE hit the Gresini Racing team hard. Alessio Finello, on his first time on the Red Bull Ring circuit, crashed during the first practice session on a wet track and suffered a fractured left foot. The Italian was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery, and then returned to the circuit on Saturday to be with the team for the rest of the race weekend.
Matteo Ferrari was the author of an excellent start to the round, conquering the front row on the starting grid. Unfortunately the rest of the weekend was stingy with satisfactions for the 2019 champion of the MotoE. In race 1, Ferrari had an excellent start from the grid but found himself on the ground at the exit of turn 1 due to the loss of grip of the rear tire. In bad luck, Ferrari can be said to be lucky to have been avoided by all the other riders who came behind him. Once the other bikes were off, Ferrari raised his MotoE and finished 14th.
Sunday's race saw Ferrari fight with the leaders throughout the race, passing under the checkered flag in fifth place. After the finish line, the rider of the FELO Gresini MotoE team was penalized by three seconds for having exceeded the limits of the track, falling to ninth position in the race classification. At the end of the Austrian weekend, Ferrari is still in third position in the overall standings, but the gap puts him mathematically out of the fight for the title.
Matteo Ferrari (FELO Gresini MotoE) 9th and 14th in the two races of the Austrian GP
“On Friday, I was really happy with the qualifying: we conquered the front row again, the strategy we had studied with the team was perfect! I really liked the new chicane, an extra opportunity to overtake. In particular, for the category MotoE, this layout is better, last year it was really hard to brake at turn 3 after such a long straight. As for the feeling with the bike, I can say that I felt good both in wet conditions, such as the FP1s, and in the dry. In the first session I crashed but the conditions were really difficult.
I am very sorry for Saturday's race, I was unlucky. We couldn't understand the reason for the crash, I was less leaned and slower than usual: the slightly cold tires together with a bit of bad luck certainly didn't help me. However, I am happy to have managed to take home 2 points, which is not a predictable result on a day like this.
On Sunday, regardless of the result of the race, I was in the leading group, then we had some problems with the front which overheated, now we will try to understand why, in order to avoid that also happening at Misano, perhaps it was a defect of the tire, which compromised the race because I couldn't brake hard. I tried to limit the damage by finishing fifth, but unfortunately we took a 3 second penalty and I find myself ninth in the standings. There have been some problems with the sensors on the green zone, no one has received the track limit warnings, so it doesn't seem correct that I have been given the penalty.”
MotoE World Cup 2022
The World Cup standings
Alessio Finello (FELO Gresini MotoE)
“I’m really disappointing for having to sit out this weekend. It was my first time in Austria and I was lapping fast: the feeling was good ahead of the weekend and despite the rain. Crashing, however, is part of the game. Surgery went better than expected and we only have to focus on the rehabilitation process: it will be very difficult to be fit for Misano but I’ll give my best, I’m very determined. Even if we’ll be a bit battered and bruised, we’ll be back than ever before! I would like to thank the team, who are always by my side and everyone at home – like Nadia – who gave me all the support despite the distance. I would also like to thank all the hospital staff for everything and for making me feel at home."
MotoE World Cup 2022
The gallery of the Austrian GP of MotoE at the Red Bull Ring
Photos: motogp.com and Gresini Racing
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