Although Andrea Iannone has steadily improved during the French GP race weekend, last night’s changes to his Desmosedici GP13 weren’t enough for him to make it into the Q2 session today at Le Mans, and the Italian will start tomorrow’s race from the fifth row of the starting grid.
Iannone is still riding in some pain, which made the situation even more challenging.
There are nonetheless some positive aspects to this weekend, especially when one considers that the team’s very participation at this round was in some doubt. In fact, the initial goal following Iannone’s recent operation was to use the three days in France to prepare for the next round.
Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
“I’m doing better than I thought. The muscle has enough strength and doesn’t bother me, which is certainly good. At the moment, it’s the knee that’s more painful, because it’s compressed in my leathers, but I know that’s just temporary. Obviously, I’d feel more at ease without the physical problems, and I could focus better on my riding, but it’s not such a big deal. I want to understand where to improve, how to be faster, and work to try to gain some positions. Now I’m having a hard time on the brakes, so I can’t slow down as I should, nor can I get on the throttle as I’d like. I want to solve that problem for tomorrow, or at least limit it. Right now, I’m having a hard time finding the right setting, as the changes we’ve made this weekend haven’t worked so well. Comparing myself with the Ducati Team riders, I realized that we’re not making the same decisions; at Jerez, for example, my way had worked better, but not at this track. At the moment, I don’t know if I should try to change, perhaps following their path, or continue on my own way. I’m very happy for Andrea’s third place today, which really gives me hope.”
Pramac Racing Team Press Release
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