Czech GP: Again in Brno

Friday, July 18th

The Brno weekend gets off to a promising start for Team Snipers. Free Practice 1, held on a wet track, provided encouraging signs for both riders. Nicola Carraro showed strong pace from the very first laps, placing himself in the Top 3 early on.
Riccardo Rossi also started well, staying within the Top 5 during the opening stages. He initially struggled in the fourth sector but gradually improved, managing to fix the issue by the end of the session.

The positive momentum continued into the afternoon Practice. Carraro and Rossi hit the track with determination from the very first minutes, aiming for fast lap times and quickly finding good feeling.
Nicola Carraro remained consistently within the Top 10, securing direct access to Q2 all the way to the chequered flag. Rossi had a more fluctuating session, running a different strategy but still posting competitive times. He narrowly missed out on Q2 by a few tenths, but the pace shown gives confidence heading into Saturday.

Saturday, July 19th

Saturday morning brought a complete change in weather: clear skies and a fully dry track for the first time all weekend. Nicola Carraro took a strategic approach, testing different setups and finding a solid balance ahead of qualifying, which allowed him to end the session with a strong 5th place.
Riccardo Rossi, on the other hand, focused more on race pace, using every available minute to improve his feeling with the bike and adapt to the new track conditions.

Despite a great start to Q1, Riccardo narrowly missed out on Q2 in his final flying lap: after placing within the top four in the first two sectors, he encountered several slower riders mid-lap, which ruined his time and dashed his chances of advancing.
As a result, Nicola Carraro was the team’s sole representative in Q2.
In the first run, Nicola immediately pushed for a time attack, working to quickly find the right feeling with the track. On his final attempt, he managed to improve despite a near-crash that prevented him from aiming higher. He still closed the session securing a spot on the fourth row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

Sunday, July 20th

Both Snipers Team riders lined up on the grid with a clear goal: to recover ground and give their all from the very first laps. Riccardo Rossi made a lightning start when the lights went out, immediately gaining four positions in the opening lap and latching onto the group fighting for points. A more cautious start for Nicola Carraro, who held his ground well and managed to gain a position, settling into the midfield battle.
Rossi kept pushing with a strong pace, among the fastest in the first three sectors. However, on lap five, as he attempted to close the gap even further, he made a mistake on corner entry and ended up in the gravel. His race was over, fortunately without any physical consequences.

It was then up to Carraro to carry the team’s hopes. Nicola remained steadily in the leading group, in a fierce battle involving no fewer than 13 riders, with the top positions always within reach. Hovering between eighth and eleventh place, Carraro fought smartly, and with a few laps to go, switched from managing the race to attacking, aiming for a top, 10 finish.
But the real twist came in the final moments: in the penultimate corner of the last lap, a rival rider attempted a reckless overtake on Nicola, misjudging completely and causing a crash that ended the Italian’s race.
A bitter Sunday for the Snipers Team, who saw a strong result slip away at the last moment, but with yet another confirmation that they have what it takes to fight at the front, race after race.

Comments

Few words from Nicola Carraro after the race:
"I'm really sorry about the crash, I was right there, ready to fight for the top 10, but another rider took me out on the final lap. Now we wait for these three weeks of break before getting back on track, ready to confirm the strong pace we've been finding in every race.”

Riccardo Rossi also disappointed by the crash, given the potential shown in the early laps:
“It’s a real shame because we had been very fast all weekend. I had a good feeling, the bike was working well, but I’m still struggling to put everything together in qualifying. It's been two or three rounds now that I’ve felt strong, so I know we’ve taken a step forward. Now I need to turn that into results, and I’m confident they’ll come soon. The race had started really well, I made several overtakes and was already close to the points after the first lap. I'm very sorry for the crash, but we’ll try to focus on the positives.”