VR46 duo chasing Acosta into Barcelona MotoGP
Pedro Acosta leapfrogged both Franco Morbidelli and Fabio di Giannantonio last time in Hungary.
Leapfrogged by Pedro Acosta in the MotoGP World Championship standings, VR46 Ducati riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio di Giannantonio arrive in Barcelona both within ten points of the KTM star.
The trio were tied heading into Balaton Park, where the VR46 pair initially took the upper hand when di Giannantonio and Morbidelli completed the Sprint podium behind Marc Marquez.
But a technical issue forced di Giannantonio to start the grand prix from pit lane, while Acosta recovered from his Sprint crash to finish second behind Marquez. Morbidelli crossed the line in sixth.
That swing has put Acosta three points ahead of Morbidelli, who had a VR46 contract renewal confirmed on Tuesday, with di Giannantonio a further seven adrift.
With Marquez running away at the front, and big gaps between Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi, the fight over fifth is currently the closest battle in the top ten.
“We head into the Catalan Grand Prix with the official announcement of my contract renewal with the team for next year, and I’m very happy about that,” Morbidelli said.
“Barcelona is a completely different track compared to Hungary, where we raced two weeks ago. It’s a circuit we know very well, where we’ve done many laps, both in Grands Prix and in testing.
“The grip is also quite unique, so it will be challenging. The results we achieved in the last race should show us the direction to follow for this weekend.”
di Giannantonio, eager to build on his Sprint podium, is also optimistic.
“I really like the Barcelona track – it's probably one of the most beautiful layouts on the calendar,” he said.
“It’s very different from the Hungarian circuit. We'll likely have much less grip, so we'll need to work a bit and figure out how to achieve the same feeling we had in Balaton.
“I hope to have a smooth weekend where we can work consistently. I've had a podium in Barcelona [in Moto2], so we'll try to have fun and do well.”
di Giannantonio finished fifth at the Catalunya MotoGP in May, but was absent from the solidarity season finale while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
