Strong showing from Fieten Olie Racing GP at Misano as Pasini qualifies 5th, Van den Goorbergh and Baltus in Q2

Fieten Olie Racing GP started well during the San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. On Saturday afternoon, wildcard Mattia Pasini managed to qualify in fifth place for Sunday’s race while Zonta van den Goorbergh qualified in 12th place and Barry Baltus finished in 17th position.

At a sunny and warm Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the San Marino Grand Prix started on Friday with two practice sessions that were quite challenging for the team. Regardless, the team went into Saturday morning’s third practice with confidence with Barry Baltus and Mattia Pasini securing a direct place in Q2. Zonta van den Goorbergh had to go to Q1 but would still qualify for Q2 in that session.

That meant that all three Fieten Olie Racing GP riders were in the second qualifying session. In this Q2 session, 38-year-old Pasini managed to cause a surprise by posting the fifth time. Van den Goorbergh also performed well and qualified 12th, his best result so far in dry conditions. For Baltus things didn’t quite come together in this Q2 session leaving him seventeenth, however the Belgian has shown before that even from a position like that anything is still possible.

Mattia Pasini – P5: “I am really happy and proud of our qualifying today, but also the weekend so far in general. We were keeping ourselves concentrated and remained calm in the right moment. We played our cards when it was the right time. We had to come from far because of the new engine we had to change a lot in the electronics of the bike but after a lot of work the bike was very good today. I want to compliment all the guys in the box because it was a perfect atmosphere today. Tomorrow it will be a tough race for sure but we are ready to fight but also enjoy. Thanks to everyone in the team.”

Zonta van den Goorbergh – P12: “I am happy with how today went. In the third practice we were very close to a direct place in Q2: I only came up short a tenth of a second and in that session I was only half a second slower than the fastest rider. That was a good start to the day because I was immediately a second faster than yesterday, anyway we had to go to Q1. There I did a good time which allowed me to move on to Q2, and in that second qualifying session I ended up qualifying in 12th place, just 0.3 seconds off the front row of the grid. I’m happy with what we showed today and I feel ready for tomorrow.”

Barry Baltus – P17: “This wasn’t what I expected from today after we started very well this morning in the third practice session. I had a very good feeling with the bike so we didn’t change anything for the afternoon. However, my feeling during qualifying wasn’t the same so that confused me a little bit. We cannot go back so we have to look forward, tomorrow is a new day. We will have to make a lot of passes and it will be a long race, but we will fight and then see what happens at the end.”

Jarno Janssen – Fieten Olie Racing GP team manager: “After yesterday we had a fantastic day today with three riders in Q2. Zonta still managed to qualify for Q2 thanks to a fine performance in Q1 and then anything is possible. He achieved a superb 12th place which is his best qualifying result in dry conditions so far.

Barry had a little less luck and didn’t feel so comfortable with the bike today. It unfortunately didn’t quite work out for him today which is a bit disappointing but we are certainly not displeased.

Our guest rider Mattia continues to show that he is still a very fast rider and finished in a great fifth place. I am glad for him that he achieved that, it’s great to see with how much passion he does this and how much commitment he still has. In the end I am proud of our three riders this weekend and I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s race.

In addition, today is a very sad day for the MotoGP family with the passing of Mike Trimby. It was with great shock that we woke up this morning and it is a heavy loss, especially for me personally. I would like to wish Mike’s wife Irene, his family, friends and further loved ones much strength during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.”

The 22-lap Moto2 race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli will start at 12:15pm on Sunday afternoon.