FIM MotoGP World Championship

Misano World Circuit, San Marino

September 11, 2015

Free Practice Two Results (all on Bridgestone tires):

1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:32.871

2. Marc MARQUEZ. Spain (HONDA), 1:32.924

3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:33.258

4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:33.291

5. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:33.469

6. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:33.552

7. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:33.553

8. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 1:33.595

9. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:33.674

10. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:33.785

11. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), 1:33.808

12. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:33.840

13. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 1:34.132

14. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:34.215

15. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), 1:34.345

16. Loris BAZ, France (FORWARD YAMAHA), 1:34.500

17. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:34.595

18. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:34.727

19. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:34.856

20. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:35.011

21. Stefan BRADL, Germany (APRILIA), 1:35.036

22. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), 1:35.394

23. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (ART-APRILIA), 1:35.735

24. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), 1:35.853

25. Claudio CORTI, Italy (FORWARD YAMAHA), 1:36.326

26. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), 1:36.530

More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing:

Positive opening day for Redding at Misano

Misano, Italy – 11 September 2015: Scott Redding made a solid start to the San Marino Grand Prix weekend, finishing both free practice sessions in 11th place and ending the day within a second of Jorge Lorenzo’s lap record setting pace.

It was another boost to Redding’s confidence, with the 22-year-old Briton building on his impressive form last time out at Silverstone, as he continues to get to grips with the Honda RC213V. Although pleased with his pace today, Redding will work tomorrow on finding more edge grip to assist with turning the bike in the slower, more technical corners for which the Misano circuit is renowned.

Redding will target the top ten and an automatic place in QP2 when he rolls out for the all-important FP3 session tomorrow morning. With the bike set up almost identical to that of Silverstone, the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider is confident that a few small changes will bring the extra few tenths he needs tomorrow.

Scott Redding: 11th 1’33.808

“It was a strange day because I feel good with the bike but there’s a lot of small areas that we need to improve. It’s not really about the feeling with the bike; it’s more about finding improvements in the lap time. This will come not with one big change, but a series of small changes so this will be our focus in FP3 tomorrow. We will also give the hard rear tyre a go, which could also bring an improvement. The surface is different to last year here, so it’s taken me a little bit of time to get used to that, but it’s the same for everybody and already we can see that there is more grip available now.”

Chris Pike: Chief Engineer

“Overall today was a good start to the weekend here at Misano. We need to find a little more edge grip at full lean angle, as that’s the area that Scott feels like he’s losing out a little bit, especially in the slower corners. That means that the bike is also not turning as well as we would like it to. It’s an area that we need to improve on but one good thing is that the bike is almost exactly the same as it was at Silverstone, other than slightly stiffer fork springs, which means that we’re homing in on a better base setting for Scott.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

MOTOGP – FIRST DAY AT MISANO

BAUTISTA IS HARD AT WORK IN THE APRILIA CAMP, FOCUSING ON PACE

BRADL HAS EVEN MORE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Misano Adriatico, 11 September 2015 – It was a day of hard work, especially focusing on comparisons of the different chassis, for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

Both Alvaro Bautista, testing radically different solutions, and Stefan Bradl, concentrating on the new frame, worked to find the best solutions for the qualifiers tomorrow and, above all, for the race on Sunday. Both riders improved between FP1 and the afternoon session, Bautista by more than two tenths (19th with a time of 1’34,727) and Bradl by almost a second, finishing 21st with a time of 1’35,036.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“Today was a really intense day. We tried a lot of different solutions and overall, with Alvaro we are quite confident that we have a good pace, since that is mainly what we were focusing on, and there is still room for further development tomorrow. Stefan, on the other hand, is having a bit more difficulty in this series of tight turns. But in the afternoon he tested the new frame for the first time and it helped. In any case I think we’ll be able to help him improve even more in tomorrow’s sessions.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“For the moment we’re in line with our expectations. We did various tests with both riders with the usual goal of taking a few steps forward. We were successful and I think that tomorrow we’ll be able to improve our performance as well as our position. It was a day of profitable work but we need to keep giving 100% for the qualifiers tomorrow.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“From the first session we tested two bikes with decidedly different settings and we found a few positive solutions. In the afternoon I continued working on the comparison even using a shorter bike but I wasn’t entirely convinced. Maybe it gave me a bit more grip but the bike became twitchier. That’s fine for a flying lap but thinking about race distance, even for tomorrow, I’ll make different choices.”

STEFAN BRADL

“This afternoon in the second free practice session I tested the new frame for the first time and I immediately found some benefits going into turns. The bike is more precise going in and although there isn’t much difference in performance in the turn compared to the frame I’ve been using until now, that is definitely positive. With this frame the bike needs to be ridden differently because it performs differently, especially in braking, so today I still wasn’t taking full advantage of it. I’ll need to adapt my riding style a bit, after which we’ll be able to improve more. Today we also made some changes to the electronics, moving in the right direction, so now we’ll carefully analyse the data in order to be even faster tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

Lorenzo Breaks Circuit Best Lap as Misano MotoGP Begins

Misano Adriatico (Italy), 11th September 2015

After a successful private Aragon test just a week ago, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team made the most of a perfect sunny day at the newly resurfaced Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Jorge Lorenzo thoroughly enjoyed the new, more grippy tarmac at the Misano track, which is one of his favourite circuits on the MotoGP calendar. He needed little time to adjust to the resurfaced circuit and swiftly moved up to second in the time sheets in his second outing with a best time of 1‘33.422. The Spaniard spent the remainder of the 45-minute session getting his setting ready for the afternoon and held the second position until the chequered flag came out.

The afternoon saw not only the temperature increase but also the pace. Lorenzo was smart to avoid traffic at the start of the second free practice session by waiting a little longer before leaving pit lane. He initially took first place before dropping to second position, which he held for most of the session until he decided to test winglets, an amendment to his YZR-M1‘s fairing, in the final twelve minutes. His next lap saw him immediately move into to lead when he dropped a 1‘32.871, a new circuit best lap record at Misano that remained unchallenged for the rest of the session.

Championship leader Valentino Rossi was greeted by thousands of cheering fans when he entered the track for the morning practice. Encouraged by the sea of yellow around the circuit, the crowd‘s favourite was on the charge right from the word go and moved up to second place with a 1‘36.456 lap before focusing on his set up. He gradually improved his time as the pace quickened and clocked a 1‘34.086 at the final stages of the session for sixth place.

Like his teammate, Rossi was able to make a big improvement in the afternoon session. Despite the crowdedness on the track, he skillfully maneuvered his way to the top of the timesheets as FP2 came to a close. He wrapped up the session by clocking a time of 1‘33.469, over one and a half seconds faster than his morning lap time. This result improved his ranking in the combined practice times to fifth position, 0.598s off today‘s fastest time.

JORGE LORENZO

We have been fast since the beginning of this morning‘s session and I like the new surface of the track, I think it suits my riding style. We tried some different settings in the afternoon that I wasn‘t quite satisfied about, but even with a less than perfect set-up we still managed to have a fast and constant pace with both tyres. We first rode with the hard rear and used the soft at the end and finished in first place. I think that, if we can improve the bike and try the hard tyre, we can make another step forward tomorrow. We are still trying out the winglets to understand the benefit.

VALENTINO ROSSI

Misano is always special and already today there was a great atmosphere. All around the track there were lots of people and this is good for the whole sport. The new track surface was quite difficult and I suffered in the morning, but we worked a lot on the bike and fortunately we improved in the afternoon. During the practice we were able to make a step forward, which is good, but it‘s not enough because I still don‘t feel a 100 per cent and can‘t ride at the maximum, so we have to improve for tomorrow. It‘s possible that I will give the winglets a try this weekend. We already rode with them during the private test and the first feeling wasn‘t so bad, it helped a little and could make a small difference.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Today was a great start to the race weekend considering we hadn‘t ridden at Misano since the track was repaved and we were unsure what to expect. Jorge started with a very focused mindset as usually and showed a great pace, setting a new fastest lap record. Vale made progress in the afternoon. He dropped into the mid 1‘33s and looks to make another step tomorrow. The team has done a good job today and we will continue to work tonight to be ready for tomorrow. The pace of the field is very fast so early on in the weekend, but we are feeling confident and are looking forward to qualifying and the race.

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Lorenzo sets new circuit lap record to top Misano MotoGP™ Friday practice

Round 13: San Marino and Rimini MotoGP™ – Free Practice 1&2

Misano, Friday September 11 2015

Bridgestone slick options: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft & Hard (Symmetric) & Medium (Asymmetric)

Bridgestone wet tyre options: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 21-22°C; Track 28-32°C (Bridgestone measurement)

FP2 – Dry. Ambient 23-34°C; Track 41-42°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo rode the quickest ever lap around the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to lead a closely contested opening day of practice at the San Marino and Rimini Grand Prix.

In this afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session, Lorenzo set a 1’32.871 to finish the day fastest ahead of the Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez (1’32.924) and Dani Pedrosa (1’33.258) who were second and third quickest respectively. Overall, the combination of the new Misano asphalt and 2015-specification Bridgestone MotoGP tyres resulted in some extremely quick lap times, with the top 12 riders on the timesheets today able to set times quicker than the existing Misano Circuit Record Lap time of 1’32.915.

Conditions at Misano today were almost perfect, with clear skies and warm temperatures creating the ideal environment for the riders to test numerous tyre combinations. All six slick tyre options in the allocation for Misano were used today, as riders adapted to the new high-grip surface. The medium compound front slick was the preferred option today due to its good combination of cornering and braking performance, although the hard compound front slick was also used extensively in FP2 with promising results. For the rear slick, initial indications are that all three options; the soft, medium and hard compound are viable race options, depending on the specification of the machine using them, and race simulations in tomorrow’s FP4 session will enable riders to hone in on their preferred rear tyre for the race.

Warmer temperatures are forecast for tomorrow, with track temperatures of around 50°C a possibility tomorrow afternoon. The next MotoGP session is FP3 which starts at 0955 local time (GMT+2).

Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

“We managed to acquire some data on tyre performance on the new Misano asphalt during private testing at this circuit, but today was our first chance to see how our 2015 specification tyres are performing on this new high-grip surface for all the riders. Our first impressions are quite positive as lap times were quicker like we anticipated, but the rate of abrasion was well within the acceptable range and all of the slick options in our allocation recieved good feedback from the riders. We will probably have higher track temperatures tomorrow, so there will need to be more evaluation work from the riders with our different tyre compounds ahead of the race, but it was a constructive first day here at Misano.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Positive first day in San Marino for Repsol Honda Team

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have had a promising first day in Misano, finishing second and third respectively in the combined times. With temperatures considerably lower compared to when they were testing here in July, the track was pretty slippery this morning but gradually improved as more rubber was laid down throughout the day.

Marc was fastest in the morning session (1’33.328) and was able to improve by four tenths in the afternoon with his lap of 1’32.924 (lap 14/20) placing him 2nd. Teammate Dani improved his time from FP1 (1’33.930) by six tenths with his lap of 1’33.258 (lap 20/20) finishing 3rd.

FP3 will commence tomorrow at 09h55 local time.

Marc Marquez

2ND 1’32.924

“I think it has been a very positive day. The track has changed quite a lot from when we came here for the test, because it has much less grip and we have had some problems arise that we didn’t have back then. We can be happy, because we obtained a lot of data today and we tried a new swingarm which has helped Honda to understand the direction to take next year. We will not use it because there are some negatives, but there were also some positives to take from it.”

Dani Pedrosa

3RD 1’33.258

“This first day at the track was not as good as the test we did here. It was a lot dirtier, we had less grip and it was more difficult to find a good feeling with the bike, which is a surprise as I expected with the lower temperatures than the test, the grip would be better. Today we worked well and pushed hard but tomorrow we need to continue working and focus on improving further.”

More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:

First day of work at Misano for the Avintia Racing Team

11/09/15 Avintia Racing MotoGP – Grand Prix of San Marino – FP1-FP2

Work started today for the Avintia Racing Team at Misano and although Hector Barbera and Mike Di Meglio were not the fastest Open Class riders, they have made a good job with the race set-up of their bikes. Barbera tried different steering angles on his Ducati Desmosedici GP14.1 to improve the agility of the bike in the slower corners and in the direction changes. The test was fine, but Hector is not completely confortable with his bike so he has more things to try tomorrow morning. During the day, he worked without looking at lap times and nevertheless, he did his fastest lap this afternoon on a tyre that had ran almost a race distance.

Mike Di Meglio made a good start in the morning, but this afternoon he did not get a good feeling with the bike. The Avintia Racing French rider hopes to fin improvements tomorrow morning in order to get the best possible result in qualifying.

HECTOR BARBERA #8 / 17th (P3 Open) 1’34.590 @HectorBarbera

Today was a hard day of work. We tested many things on the bike and I’m really happy because this morning we made all the session with the hard tyre and at the end, when we put the softer one in, I immediately made a good lap time. We also tried different geometries on the bike and during this afternoon session, I only used one soft rear tyre. I did 25 laps, making my fastest lap in the 24th, so I’m happy. We did a lot of work for Sunday and we have everything quite clear, but tomorrow we still to try something more because I need to be more confortable on the bike. The track surface is great, it has more grip and all the bumps from the last sector disappeared.

MIKE DI MEGLIO #63 / 22nd (P5 Open) 1’35.226 @Mikejpp63

I’m not happy at all, because we didn’t start well this weekend. This morning we were fast from the first laps and I improved my lap times from last year immediately. Then everybody made a little step forward, including Hector, and I was satisfied. But this afternoon, we chose a wrong way with the set-up. We tried some things, but they did not work. At least we know that this was not the right direction. The problem is that nothing worked today, to the point that when we used the soft tyre in the last minutes, we had even less grip that with the hard one. The new asphalt is better, but last year we were too slow and for me this season every track seems new.

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

CRUTCHLOW CONFIDENT OF IMPROVEMENT AT MISANO

LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow remained upbeat despite a less than ideal opening day to the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano. The Briton looked comfortable as he finished the morning session in ninth position in sunny conditions at the Italian circuit in Rimini.

However, as Crutchlow looked to push on in the afternoon, he suffered a minor crash at corner 10 in the early stages of the session. That severely hampered the 29-year-old, although he still finished tenth quickest overall – under a second behind Jorge Lorenzo who topped the timesheets. Crutchlow insists he remains confident of making major strides in Saturday’s qualifying.

Cal Crutchlow #35 (10th – 1’33.785)

“Honestly I’m quite pleased with the day. I know tenth as a result looks quite bad, but I only made about four fast laps in the second session as I crashed after about three laps. I think we made a mistake as I kept the front tyre from this morning’s session as we thought there wasn’t much wear, and I had a new rear tyre – so when I pushed we overloaded the front end a bit. It wasn’t a big crash, but that was a small mistake I made.

“After having to change between bikes, we didn’t get proper benefit of the softer rear, so we didn’t put in too many fast laps times. But I’m confident we can go significantly faster tomorrow and be more consistent as in this morning’s session I felt great and was in ninth without any problems.”

More, from another press release issued by LCR Honda:

MILLER MAKES A STEADY START AT MISANO

Jack Miller made a solid start to the San Marino Grand Prix weekend as he sat in 19th position after Friday’s free practice sessions. The LCR Honda rider improved by a couple of places in the afternoon as round 13 of the MotoGP World Championship got underway at a sunny Misano.

Miller admitted afterwards that there is still plenty of room for improvement after posting a fastest lap of 1’34.856. However, the Australian felt comfortable on his Honda at the tricky Rimini circuit and feels there will be more to come as the weekend progresses.

Jack Miller #43 (19th – 1’34.856)

“I am happy with today, it was a pretty decent result. We produced our best time on a hard tyre and I’m really happy with that because it’s very important for the race.

“In general I’m quite happy with how the bike is working, we can find a little bit more in our set-up, but for a Friday I’m reasonably happy. It would be nice to get a little bit closer to the front, but we are doing fine and I am hopeful we can build from here.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Dovizioso fourth, Pirro ninth and Iannone thirteenth on first day of free practice for TIM San Marino Grand Prix

Andrea Dovizioso set the fourth-quickest combined time in free practice for the TIM San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit. Michele Pirro, running as a wild-card entry with the Ducati Test Team’s Desmosedici GP15, finished the day in ninth place, while Andrea Iannone could only manage thirteenth.

In the morning’s FP1, Pirro was surprisingly third, while the two Ducati Team riders were respectively fifth (Dovizioso) and tenth (Iannone).

The afternoon session saw all the top riders improve their times and Dovizioso, who went out on track in the last few minutes with a soft rear, clocked a time of 1’33.291 which put him fourth in the provisional timesheets.

Andrea Iannone had a harmless crash on his eleventh lap and after returning to the track with his second bike but without using a soft tyre, he failed to improve his best time and finished the day in thirteenth place.

Pirro also had a good run in the second session, and his time of 1’33.674 classified him in ninth, eight-tenths off the pace of the pacesetter, Lorenzo

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’33.291 (4th)

“Today was a good day, even though I didn’t have an optimal feeling with the bike. I just didn’t feel good on it, but for the moment I am unable to explain why. Maybe after doing the tests here at Misano my expectations were different and I thought I could establish a good feeling straight away. There’s nothing to be alarmed about however because in any case my performance was good. Now we have to understand if there is something strange in our settings or if it was simply due to the track conditions seeing as today the times were much higher than those we set in testing.”

Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 1’33.674 (9th)

“It was a bit of a complicated day for me, because in the morning we had some new things to try and so I couldn’t do many laps. Despite this we managed to do a good session. Unfortunately in the afternoon I was unable to take advantage of the work we did in the morning because of a technical problem on my bike, but I am optimistic because it has good potential and today I was always one of the fastest riders on the track. So tomorrow I will try and remain in the top 10 and immediately get into Q2.“

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’34.132 (13th)

“It wasn’t a positive day for me and we now have to understand what to do to improve the situation. We did some tests, trying to find something that can help us to go better, but in FP2 I crashed at Turn 10. Unfortunately as soon as I got on the gas the steering closed in on me and I was unable to stay upright. When I got back to the pits I used the second bike which had a different set-up. At that point we decided not to fit a new tyre but to use the same ones as the first bike, to try and get an idea of the wear. At the moment the main issue is grip, which is really scarce and which is making me struggle a lot, but I am sure that when the track conditions improve tomorrow we will be able to resolve them.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Record-breaking Lorenzo heads Friday’s practice at #SanMarinoGP

Jorge Lorenzo utilised winglets on his M1 and set the fastest ever lap by a motorbike around Misano ahead of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa at the GP TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

For the fourth race in a row it was Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez who filled the top two places on the combined timesheets on Friday. This time it was Lorenzo who finished on top of the pile as the Spaniard took advantage of the new track surface and glorious conditions (Track temperatures reached 38°C) to set the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle around the 4.2km Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Lorenzo set a 1’32.871 in FP2 whilst utilising a medium front and medium rear tyre on a day that saw nearly all riders improve in the warmer conditions of the afternoon. The Majorcan – who is currently second in the championship standings – broke Marquez’s 2013 Pole record in the process (1’32.915). FP2 also saw Lorenzo debut ‘winglets’ on his Yamaha M1 and they seemed to have a positive affect as he immediately went quicker.

Lorenzo ended the day just 0.053s ahead of Marquez, who had earlier topped FP1. Marquez preferred a hard front and hard rear combination for his flying laps at the end of FP2 in a session that once again saw the Spanish duo a cut above the rest.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa (+0.387s) completed the provisional front row but was over three-tenths off the pace of his teammate Marquez. Andrea Dovizioso (+0.420s) on the Ducati Team GP15 was in fourth ahead of the man who leads the championship standings by 12 points, Valentino Rossi (+0.598s). Rossi did not sport the ‘winglets’ on his M1, but expect to see them make an appearance in FP3, as he preferred a hard front and rear tyre combination like Marquez.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro (+0.681s) was the leading Satellite rider in 6th, just one-thousandth of a second ahead of the Octo Pramac Racing Ducati of Danilo Petrucci.

Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished the day in 7th, with Ducati Team’s test rider Michele Pirro (wildcard) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) completing the top ten, despite the latter crashing at the start of FP2.

EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider Scott Redding was 11th, with Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in 12th and less than a second behind Lorenzo, while Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) had to settle for 13th after also crashing during the session.

Eugene Laverty (Aspar MotoGP Team) ended the day in 15th as the leading Open class rider, with Jack Miller (LCR Honda) and Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team) in 19th and 22nd respectively.

Rabat rules opening day in Moto2™

Rabat sets blistering pace on Friday in Moto2™

EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Rabat smashed Pol Espargaro’s 2013 Pole Record (1’37.666) by setting a 1’37.457 in FP2 to end Friday on top of the combined timesheets at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. The reigning Moto2™ World Champion set a consistently quick pace in the afternoon, putting in lap after lap under the old record to send out a signal to his rivals. He finished 0.158s ahead of Technomag Racing Interwetten’s Aegerter.

Aegerter – like most riders – improved in the warmer conditions this afternoon to secure second overall. Forward Racing’s Lorenzo Baldassarri (+0.159s) was just one-thousandth of a second further back in third on a day that saw less than a second separate the top 17.

Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes (+0.173s) recovered from a crash at turn 10 in FP1 to end the day fourth fastest ahead of Paginas Amarillas HP40’s rookie Alex Rins (+0.304s) in fifth.

Forward Racing Simone Corsi (+0.353s) had earlier topped FP1 but had to settle for sixth as he could only improve his time by 0.1s in the afternoon. Moto2™ championship leader Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) crashed out of FP2 at turn 4 after setting a time good enough for seventh.

Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) and Jonas Folger (AGR Team) completed the top ten. Wildcards Xavi Vierge (Tech 3) and Valentino Rossi’s half-brother Luca Marini (Pons Racing Junior Team) finished the day in 23rd and 28th respectively.

Last-gasp Kent tops Friday’s Moto3™ practice

Danny Kent sets the fastest time on his last lap of the day to finish ahead of Enea Bastianini and Romano Fenati.

Leopard Racing’s Moto3™ World Championship leader Kent made the most of the new track surface and ideal conditions at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to set a 1’43.097. The British rider set his time on his very last lap of the day in FP2 to top the combined timesheets, as a number of the top riders failed to improve their times from FP1 in the afternoon.

Despite the improved grip levels at Misano, Kent’s time was surprisingly three-tenths off Jonas Folger’s 2013 Pole Record (1’42.707) on a day that saw less than a second separate the top ten riders.

Gresini Racing Team Moto3’s Enea Bastianini (+0.036s) topped FP1 with a time that was good enough to secure second overall ahead of Sky Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati (+0.074s), who completed the provisional front row.

Ongetta-Rivacold’s Niccolo Antonelli (+0.182s) finished in fourth, ahead of the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo of Miguel Oliveira (+0.233s) and Brad Binder (+0.234s), who were separated by just 0.001s.

Kent’s teammates Efren Vazquez and Hiroki Ono finished in seventh and eighth respectively, with Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) in ninth.

It was an awful day for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 team. Jorge Navarro (34th) crashed out of FP1 at turn 12 and was taken to the Cesena Trauma Centre for treatment on an injured shoulder. Then in FP2 his teammate Fabio Quartararo (10th) also crashed, this time at turn 15, and was declared unfit after fracturing his right ankle.

Scotsman John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) ended the day in 19th overall, while wildcard Adrian Gyutai (Turvital di Vitali Ordeo) crashed out of FP2 and finished in 35th.

More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:

Great start for Baz at Misano

The first and intense day of work for the Forward Team and its riders has just ended at Misano hosting the Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini this weekend. Loris Baz and Claudio Corti went on track in front of the home crowd and finished the day in 16th and 25th position respectively.

Positive feelings for the Frenchman who was trying different options and at the same time was able to get the second place among the Open behind Laverty. With a good 1.34.500, Baz is close to the points-zone and aiming for the Open pole.

Despite the violent fall in the morning practice, fortunately without consequences, the Italian rider finished 25th with a personal best of 1.36.326 and he is confident he can repeat the good qualifying of Silverstone in front of the Italian fans.

Loris Baz:

“It was a good day of work. We tried different settings and we are going in the right direction. My best lap time is quite good and I am confident for tomorrow. We are not far from the other Open bikes. I’m happy, we should continue this way, our potential is high”.

Stefan Bradl:

“Overall it was a good day despite the high-speed crash this morning. The goal was to start from the good result in qualifying at Silverstone and take a step further but we were hampered by what happened in the first practice. I lost the front and I crashed, fortunately without consequences. In the afternoon I rode a completely different bike, the feeling is positive and the goal is to shave a few tenths in each sector to close the gap with the other Open in qualifying”.

More, from a press release issued by OCTO Pramac Racing:

Super Petrux: 7th in FP2. Yonny has to find the best feeling

Danilo Petrucci ranks seventh in the opening of the week end of San Marino Gran Prix 2015, thanks to a fantastic time attack during FP2 which makes very sweet his first official run with the Ducati Desmosedici GP 14.2. Meanwhile Yonny had a hard day and yet has to find a feeling for the upcoming tomorrow qualifications.

The rider from Terni started very well eventhough he couldn’t find performing continuity on the race pace as he had previously done during the mid-july tests in the Misano circuit. In the afternoon, the exploit with a quickets laptime of 1’33.553, which makes him rank seventh at only one thousands of a second from the second raw.

Yonny instead had almost no feeling at all with his. After ranking sixteenth this morning the Colombian rider could only make it for 4 thents of a second during the FP2. It took him too much efforts especially in the third sector closing up at 1’34.595.

7° – Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing #9 – 1’33.553

Although the good time on the lap, I’m not satisfied at all beacause on the race pace I’m not that fast, almost always out of the Top 10. The soft tyre for sure helped a lot on performing a good laptime, but it was not that relevant today. I’d rather be perfect on the race pace even because of the positive test’s data flowing in that direction. For sure, the track conditions have changed but I was not expecting to find any difficulties. I hope the feeling is going to change starting from tomorrow morning on.

17° – Yonny Hernandez – OCTO Pramac Racing #68 – 1’34.595

We had some problems, especially in the front and this didn’t allow me to perform well in the fast parts of the track. Today was not ok, but together with the team we’re clear on what has to be done tomorrow. We had a long talk after the FP2 and I think we’re on right way.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR MAKES STEPS FORWARD AT MISANO

The opening day at the Misano MotoGP today proved harder for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR than they expected as both Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales struggled to find effective settings with their GSX-RRs and finished just outside the top-10, but the team is now looking to build-on this new data ready for tomorrow.

The new Misano track surface proved very different compared to the track conditions the team experienced when testing at the circuit in July; and this brought to the light problems with the GSX-RRs’ traction that made things a little unpredictable for both riders.

Espargaro worked hard to find a good and effective set-up for corner exit, trying different solutions with geometry set-ups and electronics to find optimum traction. Unfortunately his performance was not as good as he expected and he ended the day in 12th place with a best lap of 1’33.840.

Viñales, on his side, was more focused on his race-pace, but struggled to find stability in cornering. His crew will now analyse the data and find a different way for his set-up for the rest of the weekend after he posted 14th place with a best lap of 1’34.215.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“This day has been harder than expected for us. We believed that having tested here we would have already had a good base to start from, but actually both riders struggled to find confidence. To tell the truth, they both made improvements from the morning session to the afternoon, but they weren’t as effective as we expected. With Aleix, we are not so bad; we found a good set-up and gained a good feeling, but we are paying for this in acceleration and engine-performance where we still lack a little, so we hope to receive some updates soon. Maverick is working on his feeling with the bike, we are trying to find a good set-up, we still have some work to do; and we’ll try to make things better tomorrow.”

Aleix Espargaro:

“Today is not as good as I expected: This track is one of the few where we use first-gear three times with stop-and-go corners and this puts us in a little bit of trouble. In the last races, with long straights, I thought we lacked in speed but it was not so bad and here I’m suffering a lot in acceleration instead. In the afternoon we did improve, I feel more comfortable now to brake hard and the pace is not bad – less than one second from the top – but we still need to work hard. The weather since the test is very different, the track seems different, we started from the set-up we had in the test, but we need to adapt it to the different temperatures I think.”

Maverick Viñales:

“Unfortunately it is not the start we were expecting. In the test the bike was working very well, while now I can’t find the same feeling. We still have a lot of work to do, the bike slides a lot, I don’t have grip on the rear as much as before and there’s a lot of spin. I can’t understand why the bike is behaving so differently: I was so enthusiastic following the test, while now it feels like a different bike. Maybe the track is different also because the temperatures are much lower, but we definitely need to work further to improve.”

More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:

 Eugene Laverty sets Open pace with strong start at Misano

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider fifteenth fastest on day one, just 1.4 seconds off the top

The San Marino Grand Prix kicked off today with all eyes on the battle at the top of the championship between home favourite Valentino Rossi and his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. At a circuit that is supposed to favour the Yamahas the fastest lap of the morning was actually set by Honda’s Marc Márquez, although Lorenzo responded in the afternoon with the fastest ever lap of this circuit (1’32.871) to take top spot by 0.053 seconds from his fellow Spaniard. With Rossi in fifth place after the first day of action here and an all-Spanish top three (Lorenzo, Márquez and Pedrosa), there is sure to be a backlash from the Italian riders tomorrow.

Eugene Laverty has been gradually improving his performances in recent weeks and even though he was denied the opportunity to show it by the weather last time out at Silverstone it seems the conditions will stay in his favour this weekend. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar wasted no time today in setting a fast and consistent pace, finishing as the fastest Open rider and lapping just 1.4 seconds shy of Lorenzo’s record-breaking lap. His team-mate Nicky Hayden was around a second further back, the Kentucky rider struggling for feeling today and finishing back in 23rd place.

15th Eugene Laverty 1.34.345 (41 laps): “We have been progressing over the last few rounds, we were strong at Silverstone and we have started out in the same way today. I am a little surprised because I thought that we would suffer more with the characteristics of Misano, so it was a nice surprise to finish as the top Open. We have had a new swingarm since Assen and it took a few races to set it up but now the bike is really effective. The lap times were good today and so was the consistency, so hopefully we can continue to improve tomorrow. The soft tyres worked well for us today so we will continue testing tomorrow to get the best out of them. We were fast in three sectors today so we have one we need to improve in and I need to adapt my riding to the characteristics of the bike. Anyway, I am happy today, we have been consistent.”

23rd Nicky Hayden 1.35.394 (37 laps): “We didn’t have a good feeling today, we are a long way off our best set-up and a long way off the pace. The times are not coming easy and I was trying to make up on the brakes but that didn’t help. I was braking harder and later but there are a few points on this track where you need to flow more and not brake so much. I didn’t have good grip and we need to work hard to improve this. The positive thing is that it’s only Friday and we have time to make it right. I didn’t ride here last year and I don’t know what the track was like but I have to say that I still noticed the bumps. Obviously not as much as the last two circuits but there are a few.”

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Espargaro kick starts Misano GP with spirited run to 6th

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro matched the sunshine to begin the 13th round of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship brightly with a firm finish of 6th on day one at Misano. The 24 year old got straight to work in FP1 under perfect weather conditions at the recently resurfaced 4.2 kilometre Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli as he took the first steps in adjusting the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1. The Spaniard showed his determination as he relentlessly completed a total of 24 laps in the morning session, which was more than any other MotoGP rider and set a best time of 1’34.094 on his 18th lap. When the afternoon practice got underway, the 2013 Moto2 World Champion continued his efforts as he fully intends to further his positive streak in the last few MotoGP weekends. He pushed onwards in the session before speeding to a best lap of 1’33.552 at the end of the practice and this time was less than three tenths from third position. Tomorrow, he will seek to utilise the strong start and then build on it in order to confidently battle his way to a top qualifying position in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith leapt into action on the opening day at Misano and began his San Marino Grand Prix challenge with a solid performance to seize 8th as he looks to fight to another top six result this weekend. When the morning session began, the British rider wasted no time in analysing the resurfaced track as he made the initial adjustments to his MotoGP bike in preparation for Sunday’s race. The Briton dug deep and after completing 18 laps, his best was 1’34.266 which left him in 8th and fully primed for the afternoon session. After undertaking continuous progress throughout FP2 with the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1, Smith ultimately shot across the finish line with a best lap of 1’33.595 that saw him complete the day in 8th, plus, his performance was just a blink of an eye behind his teammate by a mere 0.042 of a second. With today ending positively for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider, he now focuses on extending his recent notable record tomorrow, as he has qualified no lower than 6th in the last three races.

Pol Espargaro

Position : 6thTime : 1’33.552Laps : 46

“Today was a positive opening to our Misano account. I felt good when I jumped on my M1 and went out on track so we have been competitive as soon as the wheels turned today. We still had to face a few issues but we were able to get around these and with the setup up that we had on the second bike, we found a solution. Nevertheless, we can see that with the lap times improving, there are some areas that we will need to adjust and enhance for qualifying. At the moment I have one bike that works well in certain areas and the other one is great for the remaining aspects so all we need to do now is find the perfect mix between the two in order to be able to have a strong performance tomorrow. I definitely want to give my compliments to the Misano World Circuit for the new surface because there is an obvious improvement and itÕs a pleasure to ride on. ”

Bradley Smith

Position : 8thTime : 1’33.595Laps : 46

“It was a good start overall today here in Misano and there are plenty of positives to think about tonight. One of the main plus points is that the Yamaha YZR-M1’s are strong here even though we were the only manufacturer who missed the test here earlier this year. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about this, but having said that, after the performances from Vale and Jorge last year we knew that our bike would be competitive. Today we tried all three front tyre options and both of the rear compounds and now we have a clear indication of which direction we want to head towards for the rest of this weekend. The front of the bike is the most critical area at this track due to the nature of the circuit and the hard braking, therefore the front compound choice will be vital for the race. In addition, we need to continue our work as there is a compromise to be made between braking stability and turning of the bike. Yet overall, the new surface is an improvement and not quite the step up that everyone was talking about but for sure it’s a lot better for performance and for the safety of riders, which is the most important point. For tomorrow, I hope to continue this positive form and clinch a top grid position for the race on Sunday.”