Fieten Olie Racing GP to field three riders at Misano for San Marino Grand Prix
This weekend the twelfth Grand Prix of the season will be held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Fieten Olie Racing GP will take part with three riders as Mattia Pasini joins the team for the second time this season alongside Barry Baltus and Zonta van den Goorbergh as a wildcard.
After the Grand Prix weekend in Barcelona and a one-day test on Monday, where the Pirelli tyres were tested for the first time, Fieten Olie Racing GP has already travelled to the Adriatic coast in Italy for the twelfth Grand Prix of 2023. It is the last European Grand Prix for a while after which the MotoGP paddock will embark on an overseas trip of seven GPs before returning for the season finale in Valencia.
The 4.23-kilometre-long Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli has ten right turns and six left turns and has been on the MotoGP calendar in its current configuration since 2007. Compared to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the grip level on the Italian track is significantly higher. According to weather forecasts it will be a hot and sunny weekend so Barry Baltus, Zonta van den Goorbergh, Mattia Pasini and their equipment will be put to the test.
Barry Baltus: “Misano is a track that I’m usually quite strong at. There is much more grip compared to Barcelona so for me that will be better. Last year I had a good weekend at Misano so I think we can perform well there again. It looks like the weather is going to be nice so I am looking forward to get back on the bike again on Friday.”
Zonta van den Goorbergh: “After four days on the bike we will get back on it in a few days’ time in Misano. We had a good weekend in Barcelona with my best race so far on Sunday considering the gap to the winner. After two good Grand Prix weekends we are on an upward trend and the aim is of course to continue that in Misano and the following Grands Prix.”
Mattia Pasini: “After the experience in Mugello I am very happy to back in Misano this weekend with Fieten Olie Racing GP and everyone in the box who made it feel like a family. First and foremost we will be here to enjoy the weekend and have fun but our target is to have a good race, for sure. I think we can have a great weekend and I cannot wait to get started.”
Jarno Janssen – Fieten Olie Racing GP team manager: “This weekend we will have the last European Grand Prix for a while at Misano after which we get seven overseas Grand Prix weekends. Looking back at last weekend in Barcelona, it certainly wasn’t bad. Both riders were competitive in both qualifying and the race so we assess it as a good weekend, unfortunately the results were not quite what we had hoped for with both riders. We will need to take another step forward and hopefully we can do that this weekend.
In addition to Barry and Zonta, we will also welcome back Mattia Pasini as the third rider in the team this weekend. Earlier this year he was with at Mugello and during that weekend he performed very well. Misano is his home track where he trains very often so hopefully we can provide a bit of a spectacle together.”
The race weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli begins with two practice sessions on Friday and one practice session on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying on Saturday afternoon at 13:45. The 22-lap race will start Sunday afternoon at 12:15pm.