Second home weekend for the Team

Friday, September 12th

The home weekend kicks off with great feelings for Team Snipers: in Free Practice 1, both Riccardo Rossi and Nicola Carraro immediately prove to be competitive.
In the early stages, both riders placed inside the top 10, with Carraro climbing as high as 3rd position. The second half of the session was focused on setup work and evaluating tyre performance.

Nicola Carraro approached Practice with strong determination, posting a time in his first run that was already good enough for direct access to Q2. A solid start also for Riccardo Rossi, although his lap time left him right on the edge of qualification.
After the tyre change, all the riders went back out together, creating traffic and some chaotic situations. During this phase, a rider slowing excessively in front of Carraro forced him into a mistake, running wide and losing a valuable lap, only to rejoin behind slower riders who hindered his pace. Rossi, on the other hand, managed to improve on his final attempt, but couldn’t quite find the speed needed to secure Q2 on Friday.

Saturday, September 13th

FP2 opened Saturday morning with a clear technical approach from the Snipers riders. Riccardo Rossi continued working on his feeling with the bike, focusing on optimizing his time attack in preparation for qualifying. Nicola Carraro, on the other hand, adopted a race-oriented strategy, completing a single long run to evaluate tyre wear and his sensations during a prolonged stint.

In Qualifying 1, the two riders chose different approaches: Carraro decided to stay out as long as possible during the first run, postponing his tyre change to the final minutes, while Rossi went for a more classic strategy, returning to the pits midway through the session to make the most of multiple laps on fresh tyres.
Nicola managed to get into the Top 4 in the early laps, but his time wasn’t enough to secure a spot in Q2 by the end of the session. Riccardo finished just behind him, with both riders now preparing for a comeback race.

Sunday, September 14th

A battling start to the race for Nicola Carraro, who was forced to run wide at Turn 5 during the early chaos. Slightly dropped back, the rider responded decisively, recovering four positions by lap three and showing a solid race pace.
Riccardo Rossi had a better launch, immediately gaining two positions on the opening lap and slotting into the fight within the main group.

Carraro’s race took a turn midway through, just as he was making a strong comeback: the contact with another rider caused a technical issue that forced him into a quick pit stop. Despite being lapped after rejoining, Nicola used the opportunity to stay with the leading group, collecting valuable data for the upcoming races.
Riccardo remained in the thick of the battle throughout, finishing a hard-fought race having gained three positions from his starting spot.

Comments

Nicola Carraro was disappointed by the issue encountered in the race, given the good pace he had shown in the first half of the Grand Prix:
“Today I started from the back but managed to get a good launch off the line. A contact on the first lap pushed me wide, making me lose ground. Even though I had to restart the race from zero, I was recovering positions very quickly. Around mid-race, a technical problem forced me to lose a lap to fix it and, even if afterwards I found good speed again, I was too far behind to get back into the important positions. Now we’ll take a week off and then start the Asian rounds!”

Riccardo Rossi is already preparing for the Asian tour:
“After the Barcelona weekend I had higher expectations for Misano. I struggled throughout the weekend, but now the overseas races are coming up and I really like all of those tracks. I’m ready to perform well and finish the championship with an extra gear. These circuits suit my riding style and I’ll be fully motivated from Japan onwards.”