A difficult start to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend for the Beta Tools SpeedRS Team on Friday, the opening day of the sixteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship. At the end of Friday’s sessions, neither rider managed to secure direct access to Q2 and both will therefore have to go through Q1 tomorrow.

The morning started with positive feelings for the team. In FP1, Celestino Vietti finished in P12 with a lap time of 1’48.165, while Luca Lunetta took P16 in 1’48.508.

In the afternoon, during Practice, Vietti lost valuable track time after running off at Turn 3. After returning to the pits for the necessary repairs and adjustments to the bike, the Italian rider was unable to improve his benchmark, finishing the session in P21 with a 1’48.362. He will therefore have to go through Q1 tomorrow.

Lunetta, meanwhile, made steady progress throughout the afternoon, improving his lap time session after session. However, his 1’48.266 was not enough to secure direct passage to Q2. The #32 rider will therefore also have to tackle Q1, aiming to earn a place in the decisive qualifying phase.

CELESTINO VIETTI #13: P21 – 1’48.362

“It wasn’t the best Friday. Today we tried several different changes, some of which gave us positive feedback, while with others we still need to work to understand which direction to take. We are still looking for the best compromise for this track. The crash during Practice certainly didn’t help, especially because it cost me valuable time to work on the bike and improve my lap time. Now we will analyse all the data collected today and try to understand where we can make a step forward. We know the potential is there, so the goal is to arrive tomorrow with the best possible package and make the most of the day”.

LUCA LUNETTA #32: P19 – 1’48.266

“It was a very positive day because the pace was good right from the start. We were very close to making it directly into Q2; on the final lap, I made a small mistake just when I had the potential to improve my time. The important thing now is to stay calm and understand where we can find that half a second we are missing. Getting directly into Q2 would certainly have been an important achievement today, but the potential is there and that gives us confidence for tomorrow. We know we have a good team and a competitive bike, so we are confident and ready to face Q1. We will give it our all to achieve the best possible result”.