Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira will set off from 5th place for the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna and the second attempt at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this year. The 2021 MotoGP season starts the final dash towards a conclusion with the first of the three last events in Italy.
- Best qualification for Oliveira since the Gran Premi de Catalunya
- Three KTM RC16s enter Q2 in damp conditions, with Iker Lecuona cutting for the first time in 2021
- Niccolo Antonelli seizes first Moto3™ Pole Position with his KTM RC4
Action
After the transatlantic dash to the United States, MotoGP headed straight back to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in San Marino for the sixteenth Grand Prix of ’21 and another weekend trying to set the pace around the flat, coastal track in chilly autumnal conditions.
The KTM quartet had crucial technical data after completing round fourteen of the series at Misano and a post-race test before the flight to the USA.
Friday began in wet conditions for Free Practice 1 and 2. Come Saturday morning, and the skies were still murky and damp. The asphalt was tricky to judge as it started to dry in some places, but further unstable weather produced a precarious and challenging set of sessions.
Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci showed decent potential through FP3 to go straight into Q2; Petrucci for the first time this year. Iker Lecuona managed to seal 2nd place in Q1 to make the cut and join his teammate in the final charge for the front rows.
Q1
Brad Binder couldn’t quite find a fast lap and his small mistake and crash in Q1 meant the South African would start the Grand Prix from 20th place.
In Q2, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Lecuona and Petrucci held P2 and P3 at one stage until the final time attacks started to pour in.
Oliveira’s attempt was just four-tenths of a second away from Pecco Bagnaia’s Pole Position. Lecuona will launch from 8th on Sunday afternoon while Petrucci is 9th for his final home race.
The MotoGP sprint will get underway at 14.00 CET with 27 laps of the 4.2km course to negotiate.
Quote
Miguel Oliveira: “A good qualifying, and I’m happy to put the bike into 5th position. I’ve been strong all weekend in different conditions, even though it has been quite difficult. The weather should be a bit better tomorrow but still cold and challenging. We hope we can adapt quickly to the situation.”
Iker Lecuona: “It was finally a perfect day. In FP3 this morning, I was struggling a little bit with the rear tyre. I thought I had the speed to be in Q2, but I needed to fight. We worked well in FP4, my feeling with the bike in the mixed conditions was very well. So, I pushed very hard also in Q1. I finished second and went to Q2.
I went out with a new rear tyre and a used front tyre on my second run, and I had a small crash on my last lap. Nevertheless, I’m happy, I did my m. Imum. It’s P8 for tomorrow, and we will see what we can do from there.”
Danilo Petrucci: “Today, we could take our chance thanks to the weather. This morning we have been quite fast in the wet. Also, this afternoon, I was pretty quick.
Unfortunately, I crashed. I was pushing a lot, and the front tyre wasn’t hot enough on the left side, so I lost the front. I’m very sorry for my team! Still, it’s our best result this year.
Let’s say we had a good chance, and we took it. I’m happy about this. Tomorrow will be another day, but we start further in front and can be way more optimistic about that race.”
Brad
Brad Binder: “It was a difficult day today with the conditions. It was wet pretty much all day. It was only at the end of FP4 where we were able to get out on slicks.
I felt pretty confident for Q1 but unfortunately ended up crashing halfway through, and that was my session done.
We can still turn our weekend around but starting P20 tomorrow will be a challenge. We need to get a good start, settle into a rhythm and try to get past people as quickly as we can.”
KTM GP Academy
Niccolo Antonelli seized pole Position in Moto3 for the first time. The Italian shone in the atrocious conditions for the class as the day began rainy and foggy. KTM filled five of the first six slots with Filip Salac and Riccardo Rossi on the front row.
Red Bull KTM Ajo teammates Pedro Acosta and Jaume Masia were 5th and 6th, respectively.
While Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Ayumu Sasaki was 10th. Deniz Öncü was sitting out the weekend after his penalty for incidents at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, but he was replaced by Daniel Holgado, who directly qualified for Q2 in his first-ever appearance in Red Bull KTM Tech3 colours.
The young Spaniard and third-placed finisher in the 2021 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup were already confirmed for the Tech3 outfit for the 2022 Moto3 campaign.
In Moto2, Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Raul Fernandez (9th) and Remy Gardner (14th) were just over a second from Pole Position.
Races: October 24th, 2021 – Moto3 11.00 CET | Moto2 12.20 CET| MotoGP 14.00 CET
Results Qualifying MotoGP Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia-Romagna
- Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 1:33.045
- Jack Miller (AUS) Ducati +0.025
- Luca Marini (ITA) Ducati +0.085
- Pol Espargaro (ESP) Honda +0.268
- Miguel Oliveira (POR) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.394
- Iker Lecuona (ESP) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing +0.848
- Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Tech3 KTM Factory Racing +1.095
- Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (Q1) 1:36.478
Results Qualifying Moto2 Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell Emilia-Romagna
- Sam Lowes (GBR) 1:36.510
- Raul Fernandez (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.092
- Remy Gardner (AUS) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.315
Results Qualifying Moto3 Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell Emilia-Romagna
- Niccolo Antonelli (ITA) KTM 1:48.563
- Filip Salac (CZE) KTM +0.611
- Riccardo Rossi (ITA) KTM +0.717
- Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.019
- Jaume Masia (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.070
- Ayumu Sasaki (JPN) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.789
- Daniel Holgado (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +3.163
via KTM Press
