Qualifying
After a strong FP2 with consistent Top Ten pace, Bastianini’s qualifying was disrupted by an early crash at Turn 3 of the Bugatti Circuit. The Italian took a risk, heading out on the hard tyre for his first laps of the session, but unfortunately made a small mistake and ultimately lost control.

The #23 rider rejoined with seven minutes left in the session and recovered well, climbing to fourth place on his final attempt. Despite just missing out on Q2, Bastianini secured 14th on the grid and showed encouraging pace along the way. Meanwhile, Folger had a more difficult stint, setting a strong initial time but slipping down the order to P12, placing the German at the back of the grid for the afternoon’s race.

Sprint
In the 13-lap Sprint, Bastianini made a strong launch off the line, immediately gaining two positions in the opening corners. As the pack settled over the first lap, Folger began to put the pressure on Honda HRC Castrol’s Luca Marini before a crash forced both riders out of the action.

As the race unfolded, Bastianini settled into the midfield battle from 12th place before losing ground on the fourth lap. ‘La Bestia’ quickly responded, recovering to 12th within a few corners and pushing hard to make his way through the field.

Unfortunately, the Italian’s progress was cut short when he crashed in the final section of Lap 6, bringing a premature end to his Sprint despite a promising start.

With lessons learned and determination high, the French squad now turns its attention to Sunday’s main event at 14:00 (CEST), determined to translate underlying speed into strong points in front of the home crowd.

Enea Bastianini: “It’s been a difficult day. We know the pace is there because yesterday I just missed out on going directly to Q2, but today I’ve made a few mistakes. It’s just not like me. Today in the Sprint, I was building my pace lap by lap, I arrived at that point, committed a small mistake, and I was on the floor. Unfortunately, in qualifying I also made a mistake. We tried the hard tyre on the front, but the tyre temperature was too cold, so I arrived too slowly at Turn 3 and lost the front very early. Then I tried the soft, but my best lap only came after five laps when the tyre was already used. I know we can be competitive so I will try to put it all together for the race tomorrow.”

Jonas Folger: “It was short, but I enjoyed it. The crash was unexpected and when we checked the data I hadn't done anything wrong, so it was probably just a combination of factors. Many riders have crashed this weekend, which shows how fine the line is with this tyre. I'm disappointed but overall, I'm happy with the progress I've made and the understanding I'm getting from the bike. The positive thing is that I'm not doing anything strange. On the data side I'm riding very similarly to the other guys, just slower, which is really encouraging. For tomorrow, if it's wet, my goal is to go out with confidence and not be afraid of pushing. The front tyre is incredible in how much load it can handle, but if you use it slightly wrong it gives you nothing and understanding that fine line is the biggest challenge. Every lap I get, I’m learning more, so I’m excited to go out again for the race tomorrow.”

Nicolas  Goyon, Team Manager: “It was a really tough day for Tech3 here at our home race. Enea is doing a good job this weekend, but yesterday he missed a direct Q2 spot by the smallest of margins. In qualifying today, he had a small crash on the opening lap, which made everything difficult, but we still managed to secure P14, which wasn't bad given the conditions. Unfortunately, there was another crash in the Sprint, so it just wasn't his day. I still believe we have a good chance to do a strong race tomorrow, especially if the rain arrives as expected. On the other side of the garage, I want to thank Jonas Folger for everything he's giving us this weekend. We know how tough it is to jump back on a MotoGP bike after three years away, and it's a really hard task we're asking of him. He's doing a good job so far and, despite the small crash in the Sprint, the main target tomorrow is to complete the race.”