Great comeback for Andrea Iannone and Team Go Eleven in Race 1 at Magny-Cours. Starting with Slicks, then the rain hit the French circuit, forcing everyone to stop in the pits. After switching to rain tyres with excellent timing, the #29 maintained a good pace until the end of the race without making mistakes, earning important points for the championship.
For FP 3, a geometry solution was created halfway between the two Friday sessions; unfortunately the rain that fell during the night made the track humid, with very few riders recording a chrono lap. No lap for Andrea who choose to stay in the pits.
Just before the Superpole the rain fell heavily and all the riders were forced to use Rain tyres; perhaps the worst condition for the rider from Vasto, who had never used Pirelli on very wet asphalt, almost at the limit of practicability. Many crashes, and consequently many laps cancelled due to yellow flags, unfortunately led to a less than perfect last lap for Iannone who qualified in fourteenth position for Race 1 and the Superpole Race. With these particular conditions anything can happen.
P 1 A. Lowes 1.51.946
P 2 N. Bulega + 0.772
P 3 S. Redding + 0.853
…
P 14 A. Iannone + 4.155
There was a lot of excitement on the grid for Race 1, with mixed conditions it was difficult to make a decision, half the grid lined up with intermediates and half with Slicks. Iannone opted for the dry solution. After the first 4-5 laps the rain was back, forcing Andrea to pit on the first possible lap. Great job by the mechanics in the flag-to-flag, returning to the track in the top 8, overtaking those who remained one lap more out. The pace maintained with the Rain tyre was not in line for the podium, but he still came back on the two Hondas and took home an important fifth place for the standings. Starting from P 14, not making mistakes or crashes and scoring so many points was not at all easy today.
Race 1:
P 1 M. Van Der Mark 40’27.006
P 2 A. Bautista + 8.288
P 3 D. Petrucci + 24.285
P 4 S. Redding + 34.037
P 5 A. Iannone + 42.108
The weather forecast for Sunday at Magny-Cours is looking much better, with rain expected to spare the French track. In the Warm Up it will be important to evaluate the changes made, so as to arrive ready in SP Race and try to get into the top 9, a fundamental aspect to improve the starting grid.
Andrea Iannone (Rider): “Despite the bad weather I’m happy with the result, the guys did a good job dealing with some difficulties due to the weather changements, especially in a tense moment like the flag-to-flag. Today was only the second time I raced in the extreme wet with these tyres and even if the weather conditions were complicated, I’m still satisfied with the positive result and confident for tomorrow.”
