Positive qualifying for the Fantic Racing Lino Sonego team: Baltus secures fourth place, Canet earns fifth after a solid Q1 and confirms strong pace ahead of the race.
Qualifying Saturday at the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix smiled on Fantic Racing Lino Sonego, with both riders placing in the first two rows of the grid. Barry Baltus will start from fourth position, while Aron Canet will line up right next to him in fifth.
After a Friday that saw Baltus immediately fast and Canet facing more difficulties—also due to lingering neck pain from the Barcelona crash—Saturday’s sessions confirmed the progress of both riders. The Belgian displayed excellent race pace, further proof of his competitiveness already shown in earlier sessions.
Aron Canet, forced to go through Q1, reacted with determination and found a much better feeling with the bike. In Q2, he set a lap of 1’34.347, placing him on the second row and opening strong prospects for tomorrow’s race. Baltus did even better, securing fourth with a lap of 1’34.362.
With both riders starting from the front group, Fantic Racing Lino Sonego is ready to play a leading role in tomorrow’s race at Misano, aiming to fight consistently at the sharp end.
Aron Canet: “It’s been a complicated weekend, but today we made some real progress: we found a few solutions that improved the feeling with the bike. I’m not at 100% physically due to the neck pain, but the pace is there and the potential is clear. We’ll keep working to get everything in place and fight for the podium.”
Barry Baltus: “It’s been a great weekend so far: since Friday morning we’ve been fast and the feeling with the bike has been amazing. The team did a fantastic job and in Q2 I just missed a bit in two sectors to fight for pole, but the pace this morning was really strong. We can fight at the front, and my goal for tomorrow is definitely to win. I feel back in shape, and it’s been a long time since I felt this good with the bike. Starting fourth and opening the second row is a perfect position to be in. Since joining this team it’s been fantastic from the very first test. I’ve made a massive step forward thanks to their work and I’m very happy to continue with Fantic Racing. I believe that next year we can do an amazing job together. I’m highly motivated and can’t wait to race tomorrow.”
Roberto Locatelli, Team Manager Fantic Racing Lino Sonego:“Fantastic qualifying, because we fought for the top spots with both riders. That’s the strength of our group and the beauty of a day like this. Tomorrow we want to be protagonists, and the goal is clear: to try and bring both our riders onto the podium.”
