The three riders discover Silverstone
It was the first day ever for the three riders of the Team Garnier alpha Racing on the British track, and it was not that easy. Markus Reiterberger, Randy Pagaud and Beau Beaton learned the new facility on Friday, hoping to be more competitive on Saturday.
During the qualifying practice session, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Racing Team Ducati) was the fastest in Superstock 1000 qualifying, with a time of 2 minutes 08.730 seconds, which is one full second quicker than the previous practice record by Ayrton Badovini. Petrucci, who was on pole position in the last three races, was leading two other Italians, points leader Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing Ducati) and Lorenzo Zanetti (BMW Motorrad Italia STK Team). There were six Italian riders in the top seven.
In the first morning free practice session, Markus Reiterberger was 11th, Randy Pagaud 28th and Beau Beaton 24th, which was OK for riders discovering the Northamptonshire track.
The afternoon session could have been better. Beaton’s engine broke before he could leave the pits, Reiterberger ran out of fuel. Only Pagaud was spared. The team is looking for better luck on Saturday.
Michel Garnier (team owner): “During the morning free practice session, all our three riders were discovering the track for the first time. The weather was not very hot and this didn’t help. When we were getting ready to start the afternoon qualifying session, Beau’s bike sounded strange. We took the engine apart and there was a problem with a connecting rod. The engine was out and Beau couldn’t start the session. We hope there will be no rain tomorrow; otherwise we will not be qualified. Randy discovers the track. Markus’ problem was that he was missing fuel, and therefore the engine was not working properly in some curves. It’s a small mistake by the mechanics, and it will not happen again. I hope the weather will be fine on Saturday so we can keep up with the other riders. Overall, it’s not too bad. We solve our little problems and we charge!”
Markus Reiterberger: “My qualifying session was OK. It was not the best, it could have been better. In the first few laps, I mostly learned the track because this is my first time here. After that, I went faster and faster. But in the last laps there was not enough petrol in my fuel tank so it was not so good. I am sure tomorrow I can go faster.”
Results of the 1st practice session:
1. Danilo Petrucci – Ducati 1098R (Barni Racing Team) 2′08.7302.
2 Davide Giugliano – Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing) 2’09.060
3. Lorenzo Zanetti – BMW S1000RR (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) 2′09.497
4. Sylvain Barrier – BMW S1000RR (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock) 2′09.576
5. Niccolò Canepa - Ducati 1098R (Lazio MotorSport) 2′10.108
6. Lorenzo Baroni - Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing) 2′10.572i
7. Andrea Antonelli - Honda CBR1000RR (Team Lorini) 2′10.785
8. Leandro Denis Mercado – Kawasaki ZX-10R (Team Pedercini) 2′11.089
9.Sheridan Morais – 2′11.193 Kawasaki ZX-10R (Lorenzini by Leoni) 2′11.193 …..
13. Markus Reiterberger -BMW S1000RR (Garnier alpha Racing Team) 2′11.862….
25. Randy Pagaud – BMW S1000RR (Garnier alpha Racing Team) 2′14.976 …
