FIM MotoGP World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain September 28, 2012 Free Practice Two Results (wet conditions, all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 2:00.219 2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 2:00.285 3. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 2:00.746 4. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 2:00.996 5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (YAMAHA), 2:01.379 6. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 2:01.626 7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), 2:01.665 8. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), 2:02.412 9. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 2:02.632 10. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 2:03.263 11. Jonathan REA, UK (HONDA), 2:04.046 12. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Aprilia-ART), 2:04.353 13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 2:04.423 14. James ELLISON, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 2:04.542 15. Mattia PASINI, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 2:04.722 16. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 2:04.858 17. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-Gresini/FTR), 2:06.030 18. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 2:06.182 19. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (BMW-IODA/SUTER), 2:06.368 20. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 2:06.593 21. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-Forward/SUTER), 2:06.677 More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Confident start for Dovizioso and Crutchlow at rain-hit Aragon Heavy rain and tricky track conditions meant the start of the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragon was a challenging experience for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow today. Dovizioso and Crutchlow were fifth and seventh fastest on the timesheets after wet weather conditions once again played a pivotal role in proceedings. The pair didn’t even leave the sanctuary of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 garage in this morning’s first sessio n. Oil dropped on the track in the earlier Moto3 practice meant the session was delayed by one hour while track staff took part in a huge clean-up operation. And when the session did finally commence, track conditions were neither full wet or dry to allow Dovizioso and Crutchlow to carry out any meaningful set-up work with their YZR-M1 machinery. This afternoon’s session started with heavy rain falling on the technically challenging and undulating Motorland Aragon track, which gave Dovizioso and Crutchlow the opportunity to work on wet weather settings. Both were able to log competitive times throughout the session that kept them firmly in contention for the top three, with Dovizioso eventually finishing in fifth position. The Italian rider posted a best time of 2.01.3 79s Crutchlow briefly led the session in the early stages as he expertly calculated how hard he could push in treacherous conditions right from the off. The British rider ended with a quickest pace of 2.01.665 and while he would have hoped to be closer to the pace of the top three, the 26-year-old is confident that if the adverse weather conditions continue tomorrow that he will be strong challenger for a position on the front row of the grid. Andrea Dovizioso 5th 2.01.379 17 laps: “I am happy with the set-up of the bike because there are no obvious problems to fix, although I’d like to improve the rear traction. I felt good when I tried to take some risks and push at the end of the session. The bike reacted h ow I wanted, so I am confident I have some margin to improve. I am close to the top and it is a good start to the weekend, even if we did lose another session this morning. The only thing I hope for the rest of the weekend is some dry track time before the race. I don’t want to arrive in the race with no dry time to work on the set-up because then you are not fully prepared, so I hope whatever the conditions are tomorrow will be the same on Sunday.” Cal Crutchlow 7th 2.01.665 15 laps: “I am pleased with my pace in the full wet conditions as I was right near the top and confident I could have finished inside the top three. I had a small problem with the steering damper right at the end and without that I am sure I would have been much higher than seventh. We have to take another step tomorrow if the conditions are the same but I am confident I can be very competitive in the wet. The set-up of the bike is good and with some improvements if we have more rain tomorrow, I’ll be looking to be back on the front row again. I hope the rest of the weekend though is dry and the fans can see a good race.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Friday on wet Aragon track: Top ten for Karel Abraham 9th best lap time achieved Czech MotoGP rider Karel Abraham in Friday´s practice session for Grand Prix of Aragon. Abraham made his fastest lap in the end of afternoon session making 2:02,814, which is 2,413 second behind fastest Ben Spies. Karel Abraham “First session was affected by Danny Webb´s crash in Moto3. There was lot of oil on the track and it should be pretty risky to ride on it. Afternoon was completely different. I did seventeen laps almost without entering garage. Bike set up isn´t bad, we have only one problem with the rear, we are not able to warm the tyre enough. We are looking forward to tomorrow hoping that weather will be better.” Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic “žToday was quite positive for us. We didn´t ride in the morning session because of two reasons: at first, it was some oil on the track and after that, there were very tricky “žnot wet, no dry” conditions. Afternoon session was completely wet and we were able to do good lap times in the end of the session. It´s positive to be in Top ten, even we got some problems with rear suspension, which limits us in acceleration. We hope to have better weather tomorrow which allow us to improve “ždry” set up of the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Dani second as tricky weather conditions continue to plague MotoGP in Aragón The Repsol Honda Team went back on track today for the first day of free practice for the Aragón Grand Prix, with Dani Pedrosa setting the second fastest time in the combined classification and Jonathan Rea placed in eleventh position. In the morning, the first free practice saw a repetition of the conditions in Misano with bad weather marking the start of the fourteenth round at Motorland Aragón. After a 1 hour delay to the session, caused by oil on track from the previous Moto3 session, Dani did not complete any flying laps and Jonathan failed to go out at all, deciding nothing could be learnt from the 50/50 track conditions. Dani, the quickest bike on track with a top speed of 330.5, was just 0.066 off the fastest time in FP2 this afternoon with cold temperatures and full wet conditions, while the British rider finished 11th, 3.8 seconds behind Ben Spies. DANI PEDROSA 2nd 2’00.285 “At least we had a full wet session this afternoon to work with the bike and I felt quite good. I was catching the pace step by step, even though the grip was not very high in the rear, and we still have to adjust the setting a little more to improve in some corners. It looks like the weather forecast is also bad for tomorrow, so it will be important to take advantage of the morning practice to be well prepared for qualifying”. JONATHAN REA 11th 2’04.046 “It’s been pretty frustrating because I feel like we’ve lost another day, it’s the same story as Misano! It was the first fully wet session we’ve had and the big difference for me was with the tyres and when they lose traction you can play with the rear grip slightly. I was riding a little too cautious today and I feel I need to push the tyres more and be more comfortable with the bike moving around. I wasn’t too happy with myself as in the last few laps this afternoon I was on personal best sectors and I made a few mistakes as the front tyre didn’t feel very stable on the carcass. I guess we need to be thankful we were able to test here a few weeks ago and we completed over a hundred laps so for the dry we should be ok, but in the wet my feeling is still not 100%. Let’s see what the conditions bring tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Spies Fastest in Wet Aragon Practice The Grand Prix of Aragon got off to a slow start today with mixed weather and half wet, half dry track conditions resulting in few riders venturing out in the morning session. Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies waited until the afternoon’s fully wet second practice to venture out, a key protagonist in an early flurry of fastest riders he then became the man to beat. The Texan was clearly comfortable on a good wet set up, completing the day 0.066 seconds ahead of Dani Pedrosa. Team mate Jorge Lorenzo also sat out the morning session but was one of the riders challenging Spies for the top spot in the second practice, the two trading fastest times in the last quarter of the session. A last minute hot lap by title rival Pedrosa saw him drop to third, 0.527 seconds behind Spies in first. In recognition of Iveco’s award of ‘Truck of the Year 2013’ for the new Stralis Hi-Way, the YZR-M1s of both Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will carry the Iveco and ‘Truck of the Year’ logos for the remaining five races of the season. Ben Spies Position : 1st Time: 2’00.219 Laps: 16 “It was a good wet session so we’re happy with it, the bike feels good and we’re quick. We got a good setting with the bike sorted and we got some new information with the electronics so we’ll see what happens tomorrow with the weather. As long as everything keeps going smoothly then that’s all we need!” Jorge Lorenzo Position : 3rd Time: 2’00.746 Laps: 13 “In the morning we could have practiced but we preferred to stay in the box and save the engine life a little. This afternoon with full wet conditions we could go out and see what the feeling is with the bike in the rain in case we have a wet race on Sunday. The track is very slippery, we did a lot of laps trying to find the pace but we didn’t try to do one hot lap. Ben and Dani were very fast but the important thing is we made a good comfortable pace.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “It was a very wet second practice! The pace was good and third position is very acceptable. We are looking for things to improve for the next wet session but we were one of the fastest guys out there and we were consistent so we’re pleased with the result.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “Today wasn’t completely useless, this afternoon we were able to get good information and put a good wet set up together. The pace is really good in the wet and we have a good set up in the dry from our test recently so we are ready for both conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Spies on top in rain affected Aragon practice Round 14: Aragon Grand Prix Free Practice One and Two Aragon, Friday 28 September 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Weather: FP1 – Wet. Ambient 17-17°C; Track 18-18°C (Bridgestone measurement) FP2 – Wet. Ambient 18-18°C; Track 19-20°C (Bridgestone measurement) Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies was quickest on a rain-riddled Friday at Aragon, with the American rider setting a lap time of 2’00.219 in FP2 to finish the day 0.066 seconds ahead of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Spies’ benchmark time came towards the end of FP2 and capped off a solid start for the Yamaha Factory Racing team at Aragon with Jorge Lorenzo posting the third best time of the day. In similar circumstances to the last race at Misano, FP1 was run in variable track conditions on tarmac that was neither fully wet nor fully dry. Only nine riders elected to go out in the morning session, with the remaining riders hoping for more consistent conditions in FP2. Steady rainfall leading up to second free practice meant a fully wet track greeted riders for the afternoon session, and all riders ventured out on track in search of a wet setup. All riders used the soft compound wet tyre today which is the main wet tyre for this weekend, with no riders electing to fit the alternative hard option in today’s cool conditions. The current weather forecast indicates that rain is a strong possibility for tomorrow’s FP3 and Qualifying Practice sessions, while the race could also be run in damp conditions with rain predicted for Sunday morning. Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Free Practice Two provided consistent track conditions for riders and teams to start work on a wet setup as this morning’s in-between conditions meant many riders chose not to go out of their box. Even when the rain stopped falling in this afternoon, there was still a lot of standing water on the track so the wet tyres stayed in their ideal operating window for the duration of the session. Overall, tyre performance in the cool and wet conditions at Aragon today was positive with riders reporting good grip levels and warm-up performance.” More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR RIDERS START STEADILY AT MOTORLAND Randy De Puniet and Aleix Espargaró place twelfth and thirteenth overall and are once again top CRT riders In similar circumstances to the first day of the San Marino GP two weeks ago, the Aragón GP began with another wet day to kick off the weekend. The MotoGP riders were barely able to put in laps in the morning, owing to an oil spill from a Moto3 rider in the previous session that left turns seven, eight and nine treacherously slippery. Only eight premier class riders took to the track in that particular session, and for the most part they put in no more than ten laps. In the afternoon, rain fell to leave the MotorLand track completely wet -more favourable conditions for getting accustomed to the circuit. The best time of the second session went to Ben Spies. In top form and with a great feel for their machinery, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar duo continue to lead the way for the CRT riders -whatever the weather. In the morning, Aleix Espargaró was more intrepid than his teammate and put in eight laps in tricky conditions. Randy De Puniet stayed in the garage in order to avoid unnecessary risks. In the afternoon, the Frenchman was the fastest of the CRT competitors, followed by his teammate 70 thousandths of a second behind. Tomorrow both will be pushing for the best grid position possible, come rain or shine. 12th Randy De Puniet 2.04.353 (15 laps): “Today was another strange day. In the morning I didn’t go out, because a rider had left oil on the track and it was dangerous -I preferred to wait until the afternoon. The asphalt was completely dry then and it was raining non-stop. We got to work and in the end made three runs. In the first one we made a few changes, which were positive. In the second run I had problems with my helmet visor and in the last I made some big improvements. I am satisfied, because we never took a step back. We were the top CRT and can also be happy with this, because there is still room for improvement that we will look for tomorrow. I think that we made a good start today and are prepared for a wet race on Sunday if it turns out that way.” 13th Aleix Espargaró 2.04.423 (23 laps): “The day went well, despite the rain. In the morning we were unable to ride much, because the track was partially damp. I put in a couple of laps but couldn’t get a good feel for things, because at some points the bike was sliding around a lot. In the afternoon I felt very much at ease in the wet. I am very happy, because I was awful in the wet at the start of the year; at Le Mans I had a nightmare and I was lapped, but I’ve improved and now I feel excellent on a wet track. I’m having a lot of fun in the conditions, which I didn’t expect, so I am satisfied with that and we shall have to work hard tomorrow in order to be as fast as possible in qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Rain affects free practice at Aragon GP The first two free practice sessions at the Aragon Grand Prix were affected by bad weather. The first, which was postponed by one hour in order to clean up an oil spill that had occurred during the Moto3 session, was rendered useless by mixed conditions, which were neither entirely wet nor entirely dry. The second, which was completely wet, could prove to be important if the forecasts calling for rain in tomorrow’s qualifying session are correct. Taking advantage of the situation was Nicky Hayden, who was fourth overall at the end of this first day, while Valentino Rossi, eighth, was slowed by a gearbox problem that kept him in the garage with his bike toward the end of the afternoon session. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 4th (2:00.996) “More rain, but you can’t change the weather. This morning we did a couple of laps just to get a feel for things, but we waited once it dried out. It was wet in the afternoon, but I didn’t enjoy riding in the rain as much as I usually do. The track itself was pretty grippy, as we were about ten seconds off my dry time here, which isn’t bad on a track this long, but I was missing some rear grip on corner entry and at the first touch of the throttle. We’ve got to improve that. I only rode with the new chassis today, but with the rain, I’m not really able to give an impression. They’re calling for more rain tomorrow, so we might have to manage the rain tyres. When it dries, this track can chew them up quickly, so we might need to make sure we save enough for qualifying. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 8th (2:02.412) “We had a problem with the gearbox on the bike we were using, and I lost a bit of time in the garage. We had to prepare the second one in a hurry, and then I rode with that. It’s a shame because with these conditions, the tyres only get up to temperature after a few laps, so when I was able to go back out, I didn’t have time to push hard. Our potential is certainly better than this. We can be more competitive, and we’ll try tomorrow in qualifying which, according to the forecasts, could be wet like today. We’ll try to get a good starting position and then we’ll see for Sunday, because it looks as if the race might be dry.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Ben Spies shines on rain-hit first day at Aragón MotoGP™ On a wet opening first day at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón it was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies who laid down the benchmark in the MotoGP™ class by setting the fastest time of the day in the afternoon practice session ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo. After a near-wasted morning session with a part-wet surface, riders were greeted with rain for their second run out where Spies’ time of just over two minutes relegated Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa into second, who left it late to post his best time. Third place went to Yamaha’s championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, although the Spaniard was almost half a second off the front. He did however claim that he did not push for a fast lap at the end. Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden finished the day fourth fastest, with the American benefiting from the wet condition as his right hand continues to heal from injury. In fifth, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso led the satellite machines, yet was over a second off Spies’ best time. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl ended the day in sixth, after looking strong all session on his RC213V machine. Seventh place went to Dovizioso’s teammate Cal Crutchlow, who had his fastest time cancelled at the end due to cutting the track. In eighth, Ducati’s Valentino Rossi couldn’t capitalise on his prowess in the wet, as a gearbox problem saw him heading out on his second bike, using a less than ideal set-up. He finished ahead of Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham in ninth, who will be pleased at having finished narrowly behind his factory counterpart. The top ten was completed by San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, with the Spaniard hoping to try out some new Showa suspension before qualifying tomorrow. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet put in a solid performance to finish as top CRT machine in 12th, ahead of his teammate Aleix Espargaró. Turn 1 turned out to be a tricky spot for many of the riders, with numerous running off at the end of the straight as they pushed to improve their lap times. The morning session saw only nine riders head out on track as the mixed damp-dry conditions once again made it near impossible to find out anything about bike set-up. Moto2™ JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco emerged as the man to beat after dominating a wet first day of Moto2™ free practice at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón ahead of Andrea Iannone and Alex de Angelis. Zarco’s reputation as a wet-weather specialist keeps growing as the French rookie posted the fastest time of 2.07’844 in the afternoon practice, despite crashing on his final laps. His time was sufficient to relegate Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone into second, with the Italian finding his best form in a delayed morning session. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis did well to recover from a crash in the latter part of the day, managing to head back out on track to post his best time. Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi was consistently quick all day, stirring up memories from his dominant wet-weather victory in Le Mans earlier this year. Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Gino Rea was the surprise inclusion of the day, as the young Brit showed once again that the wet suits both him and his machine, setting his time in the first practice. Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti was also in good shape posting the sixth fastest time of the day. Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón was the top Spaniard at his home track in seventh, although his time was nearly a second off Zarco’s. Despite finishing the day eighth fastest, Xavier Siméon’s outing in the afternoon was marred with two heavy falls, although the Tech 3 Racing rider walked away unscathed. Benefitting from the conditions was QMMF Racing’s Anthony West, who reminded people why he is known as a wet-weather specialist. Rounding out the top ten was Desguaces La Torre SAG’s Marcel Schrötter. The afternoon practice was a crash-strewn affair, as Zarco’s teammate Eric Granado had a big highside, with Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez also taking a spill. Márquez ended the day in 11th, whilst his nearest championship pursuer, Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró, came in 12th. Espargaró was unhappy at the end of the second session, as he encountered traffic twice as he tried to post a hot lap. Moto3™ Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Miguel Oliveira set the pace on an eventful first day of Moto3™ free practices at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón ahead of Luis Salom and Jonas Folger. It was in the morning session held on a damp track when the best lap times were set with Oliveira setting a 2.11’415, pushing RW Racing GP’s local rider Luis Salom into second by over 1.3 seconds. Closely behind was Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s revelation of the season Jonas Folger, who will no doubt be one of the favourites this weekend. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s championship leader Sandro Cortese made a good start to by placing his bike in fourth in the timesheets, only marginally behind Salom. His teammate Danny Kent completed the top five, just under two seconds off top spot. AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin coped well with the conditions to finish the day in sixth, as he continues his quest for his first ever podium. Salom’s teammate Brad Binder ended the day in seventh ahead of Estrella Galicia’s Alex Rins, who will be hoping to emulate his teammate in the sessions tomorrow. Bradol Larresport’s wildcard Jorge Navarro did well to put his bike ninth ahead of Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales in tenth. The morning session was marred with crashes after Kent’s bike left oil on the track in turn 7, causing Oliveira and JHK t-shirt Laglisse’s Adrian Martín to crash. This brought out the red flag four minutes before the end, after which the session was cancelled due to the clean-up taking too long. That practice also saw falls from Rins, San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolò Antonelli, IodaRacing’s Armando Pontone, Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb and Martín’s teammate Efrén Vázquez. The afternoon session, which was held in heavy rain, saw riders around five seconds slower per lap, with Caretta Technology’s stand-in John McPhee and Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Kenta Fujii taking a tumble. None of the riders were injured in the crashes. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: WET FIRST DAY AT MOTORLAND ARAGON The opening day at the MotorLand Aragon took place on a wet circuit and all the MotoGP riders took the track to test their set-up in these tricky weather conditions. In particular, the Pramac Racing Team rider, Héctor Barberà, used the first free practice sessions to re-acquaint himself both with the bike and the wet track, following a long summer break due to his injury and the difficult weekend in Misano, two weeks ago. Héctor worked with the Pramac Racing Team today, not looking for the best race set up, but only trying to improve his confidence with the Ducati machine. Tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying sessions are expected to be run in wet conditions, but dry conditions have been forecast for Sunday’s race. Héctor Barberà Pramac Racing Team Rider 18th place in 2’06.182 “Getting back to the track with these poor conditions is the most difficult thing to do. In Misano, two weeks ago, I had a painful weekend after more than a six-week absence through injury so today I tried only to regain the confidence with my bike. I’m sure that tomorrow we will have a much more productive day and I will able to make a big step forward.” Marco Rigamonti Track Engineer Pramac Racing Team “Today Héctor struggled a little to find the right confidence with the bike, it was not easy with these tricky asphalt conditions. We decided to make progressive steps, without looking for the best lap time. But I know that tomorrow we can achieve a good place on the grid.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL FEELS OKAY ON WET ARAGON SURFACE Aragon, 28th September: the Aragón GP opening day got underway in similar conditions to Misano last time out with a damp track hindering the riders’ preparations and an intense track cleaning procedure with LCR racer Stefan Bradl sitting out the first morning session like the majority of his colleagues. Then premier class riders were greeted with rain for their second run out and the 22-year-old ended the day in sixth, after looking strong all session on his RC213V machine completing 14 laps (2’01.626). Stefan: “This second outing in the wet was not that bad for us. Since the beginning I had a good feeling with my bike in the wet and the whole package was functioning in the right way. We have tried to improve a bit my front feeling because I was struggling a bit in the downhill corners and after that we made a little suspension modification and it worked well. When the surface started to dry up a little bit I felt too much pressure on the tyres but at the end I think we are in a good shape and well prepared for another rainy day on track”. More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing: Rain strikes the free practices at Aragon Colin Edwards completes a total of seventeen laps at the Motorland circuit in both morning and afternoon free practices today at the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón. The unstable morning weather conditions and the pouring rain in the afternoon did not allow much working continuity for the NGM Mobile Forward Racing. Nonetheless, the lap times of the American are among the ones from the majority of the CRTs. There is still a lot of work to be done in order to be ready for the race on Sunday. Colin Edwards 5- “This morning we went out and did a few laps, did a shake down and got a couple laps in and found out that we had a connection problem, we will have to do some work on the bike tonight to see if we can fix it. This afternoon it was all about finding the setting of the electronics. We have to figure out how to make the new electronics package work similarly to the one we had in Sachsenring, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but trying to fix that in one day is a challenge. We are working in the right direction, I feel comfortable on the track, tires work great, and the bike balance is almost there. We just need to get the electronics sorted and we should be good.” Sergio Verbena Crew Chief “The bad weather seems to be a constant factor this season, almost like a curse. With this morning’s the delay of the first free practice session and the dangerous conditions. Today with a completely wet track we managed to make some improvements but we still have some work ahead of us. Tomorrow we expect rain so we will continue working in the same direction we have today.”