The summer break came to an end as MotoGP™ roared again in the beautiful hills of Styria, with Red Bull KTM Tech3 returning to action for round 13, the BWIN Grand Prix of Austria. After being given the green light by the doctors on Thursday, Maverick Viñales made a cautious return to the track, a bit more than a month after his left shoulder injury in Germany, with the aim to understand his current physical condition and his ability to compete or not at the highest level. Enea Bastianini showed competitive pace all day, although he narrowly missed out on Q2, finishing just at the doors of Practice, in 11th.
Grand Prix of Austria
Enea Bastianini made a solid return to action on Friday on KTM’s turf as he was able to ride a solid pace right away from the opening Free Practice 1, as the bell rang the end of the summer break, but the start of 10 exciting rounds incoming. The Italian closed the top 10 in FP1, right behind KTM teammate Pedro Acosta, as just 0.001 seconds separated the two riders. Enea’s best lap in 1’29.957 saw him end just within half a second from Marc Marquez who set the first benchmark, of course. Later in the afternoon, hot track conditions awaited the main class for Practice, with 31° in the air and 44° on track. The number 23 was in a provisional top 10 before the session was red-flagged following a crash, forcing the race direction to re-deploy an air fence. There was not too much time left as the session restarted, a bit less than 20 min. The intensity began to rise, with the last time-attack session giving us the usual Friday show. Enea improved to a late 1’28.866, but unfortunately he came 0.021 seconds short of the top 10, to finish in P11. The Italian will have to go through a busy qualifying 1 tomorrow morning.
Maverick Viñales made his return on track on Friday, just a month after his crash at the Sachsenring. After a summer spent healing, ‘Top Gun’ was happy to reunite with his team, well aware that the target was to understand his physical condition. The Spaniard rode 16 laps this morning. The feeling was good overall, although he struggled to remain well inside his bike in the main straight, with his shoulder, still not 100% healed. Later in the afternoon, Maverick decided to stay sidelined after just 6 laps, to prevent his shoulder ahead of Saturday's action. We will have to see how our number 12 feels tomorrow morning, as the action will resume with Free Practice 2 at 10:10 (UTC+2), followed shortly after by the qualifying sessions. Then, the Tissot Sprint will start at 15:00 for 14 laps!
ENEA BASTIANINI: "I felt fast right away this morning and I was really close to the other riders, but this afternoon it was a bit more difficult. We know it, when the conditions get hotter, I struggle more to manage the front of my bike, and I miss a bit of support from the front. However, the new fairing is quite good, I like it, and I am happy with the updates received this weekend. Let's continue working, and see how we can be on Saturday."
MAVERICK VIÑALES: "I feel good and optimistic! We arrived here in Austria with the idea to just do some laps, and I could do the entire FP1, which is good already. The shoulder was not so bad this morning, but in the afternoon, it got a bit more rigid, with less mobility, and it was harder for me to stay inside the bike in the main straight against the wind, so we decided to stop, and see how I recover for tomorrow. At the moment, it is really important to listen to the body, to the shoulder, and do the correct steps. The speed is there, it is just a matter of being at 100%, but every lap I make will bring me back to full physical condition. We will see how I feel tomorrow morning when I wake up, and make a decision for the day."
PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, 1'28.117
2. Pedro Acosta (SPA), Red Bull KTM Factory, +0.228
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Ducati Lenovo Team, +0.268
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.749
21. Maverick Viñales (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +2.683
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2024 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'27.748 - 178.3 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - F. Bagnaia (ITA) - 1'29.519 - 174.8 km/h
Best Pole: 2024 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'27.748 - 178.3 km/h
Top Speed: 2024 - L. Savadori (ITA) - 317.1 km/h
