Niccolò Antonelli admitted to feeling slightly disappointed despite matching his highest ever Grand Prix finish at Mugello. The Italian rookie was dreaming of a podium on his home debut but a three-rider breakaway left him to fend off Danny Kent for fourth. Antonelli succeeded in doing so but is already planning how to improve his FTR-Honda for the second half of the season to challenge for the rostrum.
“Fourth place isn’t bad even though we ended up a little way off the fight for the podium today. Unfortunately because of one of the riders in our group we lost contact with the front guys and we weren’t able to recover. It’s a shame but I think today we have taken a positive step forward. Obviously we have work to do to get more confidence on this bike but I think from now onwards we can start to have fun.”
San Carlo Gresini Moto3 team manager Fausto Gresini understood Antonelli's frustration but was proud of his performance and continues to be impressed by his rookie campaign.
“Niccolò didn’t do badly at all! It was just a shame he missed out when the front three made a break and he got stuck battling with the guys around him. But he did a great job and set some very good lap times. He is making progress and working well, even though he is disappointed today because he would have liked to carry the fight to Fenati, with whom he has a healthy rivalry. Overall it was the right result and a good step forward.”
