In Spielberg, Fantic Racing Lino Sonego strengthens its lead in the team standings, now with a 31-point advantage.
The weekend at the Red Bull Ring ended with a hard-fought Sunday for Team Fantic Racing Lino Sonego, which leaves Austria with seventh place for Barry Baltus and tenth for Aron Canet, consolidating its leadership in the team standings.
Free practice and qualifying had shown encouraging signs: Baltus, after a challenging Friday secured direct access to Q2, regained strong pace in FP2 and then qualifying 11th on the grid. Canet, competitive from the beginning, paid the price for Saturday morning’s crash, which forced him to grit his teeth in qualifying, closing the session in eighth position.
In the race, Baltus displayed great determination. After a good start, he got caught up in the hectic opening laps and dropped to 15th place. From there, he began a steady comeback: back into the top 10 by lap five, he continued to improve his rhythm and crossed the line with a solid seventh place finish.
It was a more complicated Sunday for Canet, who, after a promising start, struggled to find the right feeling with the front end, making his race an uphill battle. Despite the physical pain from Saturday’s crash and a setup still to be perfected, the Spaniard delivered a solid performance, finishing tenth. The result proved even more valuable as, thanks to his direct rival’s zero in the title fight, Canet gained important points in the riders’ standings.
Although the outcome did not fully meet expectations, Fantic Racing Lino Sonego can be satisfied: the squad has extended its lead in the team standings, now with a 31-point advantage.
Mattia Pasini, racing as a wild card with Fantic Racing Redemption, finished his race at the Red Bull Ring in P22 after a challenging weekend. He had a strong start and managed to stay with the group fighting for points, but a few mistakes cost him contact with the pack. In the final stages, he chose to manage his pace and bring the bike home without taking further risks. Despite the difficulties faced in practice and qualifying, Pasini showcased his experience and contributed with dedication to the team’s work.
The next challenge awaits in Hungary, at Balaton Park, for another round that promises action and excitement.
Barry Baltus: “It’s not the race we wanted today, but we have to take the positives and keep working on the negatives. With our pace, I think we could have fought for the podium again, but we struggled at the start. In the first laps, with all the chaos, I lost many positions and dropped to 16th or 17th. From there, I’m happy with the progress we made to recover up to P7. After a very difficult Friday, we managed to make a massive step forward and that’s something to be proud of. Of course, there’s still work to do, but if on a tough day we can still finish seventh, that’s a positive sign. Next week we have another chance and I’m confident we can keep improving.”
Aron Canet: “It wasn’t the result I was hoping for today. After Saturday’s crash I wasn’t at 100% and I struggled to ride as I wanted. Still, the result is solid for the championship. The pase was there and the team did a fantastic job. Now we want to do better in Balaton.”
Roberto Locatelli – Team Manager: “For Aron, Saturday's fall was the real opponent of the weekend. He certainly had complications riding as he would have liked, but he took home a solid race. Also considering the zero of his direct rival, we are leaving Austria with a positive result for the championship. Barry, on the other side, paid for a not perfect qualification which forced him to start further back, where the risks are higher. In the early stages he was almost involved in a fall and slipped far back, but from there he built a major comeback to seventh position. Looking at the data, without the initial difficulties he could have fought for the podium. This confirms his strength. We go to Balaton to try to win.”
Mattia Pasini: “It was a complicated weekend and only today we managed to have a ‘normal’ day. I had a good start and for a while I was able to stay with the group fighting for points, but then a few mistakes made me lose contact. Towards the end, I had a couple of big moments and decided to manage the race to the finish. If we had started with the right pace already on Friday, I believe we could have done much better. Racing only a few times per year makes it harder to put everything together in such a short time, but I’m still happy with the experience and I want to thank Fantic and the whole team for this opportunity.”
