FIM MotoGP World Championship
Mugello Circuit, Italy
May 29, 2015
Free Practice Two Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:47.479
2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:47.643
3. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:47.852
4. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 1:47.994
5. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 1:48.038
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:48.124
7. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:48.137
8. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), 1:48.164
9. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:48.211
10. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:48.283
11. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:48.317
12. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:48.419
13. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:48.435
14. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:48.483
15. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:48.493
16. Stefan BRADL, Germany (FORWARD YAMAHA), 1:48.694
17. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), 1:48.851
18. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:48.926
19. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:49.030
20. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), 1:49.729
21. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:49.741
22. Loris BAZ, France (FORWARD YAMAHA), 1:49.825
23. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), 1:49.864
24. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), 1:49.866
25. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (ART-APRILIA), 1:50.477
26. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (APRILIA), 1:51.800
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Italian GP gets underway in Mugello for the Repsol Honda Team
It’s been a busy first day for Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa under wonderful weather conditions in Tuscany, with the top fourteen riders within a second.
Both riders spent the day working on electronics with Marc confirming his choice of the new swing arm. He finished the day second fastest with his time of 1’47.643 on lap 11 of 16 in this afternoon’s FP2. Dani completed a long run this morning of 14 laps to test the fitness of his recently operated upon right arm, which was positive. He had a few issues with the electronics in the afternoon and finished 14th in the combined times with his lap of 1’48.435 recorded on lap 10 of 18.
Marc Marquez
2ND 1’47.643 [LAP 11/16]
Overall, today went quite well. It was a Friday in which we tried several things, especially in terms of electronics to try and improve the engine character, and I’m happy because we have taken a step forward. I’m not yet completely comfortable, but I felt pretty good and it seems that the direction we have taken is the right one. Now we need to put in more laps, find our race pace and continue to evolve to be as close as possible to the fastest riders.
Dani Pedrosa
14TH 1’48.435 [LAP 10/18]
The first day did not go all that well, but I do not think that it is too significant; we’ll see if we can improve tomorrow. This afternoon we had a problem with the electronics on the bike that did not allow us to put in all the laps we had wanted to do, but we will try to fix this tonight and hope that tomorrow we can finish higher up in preparation for the race.
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Strong start for Smith in the Tuscan hills
Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith kicked off his Mugello campaign with a confident surge to 5th position in the combined standings on the opening day of action at the highly anticipated Gran Premio d’Italia TIM. The British rider started the morning practice positively by clinching 8th place with a time of 1’48.349 that left him only 0.045 behind the 5th placed rider. As the sun shone down on the meandering 5.245 kilometre track throughout the day, Smith began his FP2 run with intent to continue the vital set up work with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. After having successfully evaluated all of the available tyre options, the 23 year old met the chequered flag with a lap of 1’48.038. This time resulted in him seizing 5th as well as the honours of being the top satellite rider. In addition, his final time was just under two tenths of a second from third and leaves him fully primed for a successful qualifying performance tomorrow.
On the other hand, Pol Espargaro completed the first day of practice in the Tuscan hills with a finish of 10th place aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. The young Spaniard looked to bounce back from his recent right arm surgery and started his Mugello weekend by finishing in 9th, merely 0.041 behind his teammate. Having begun the day with some solid set up work, he looked to refine and continue this progress in the afternoon, in preparation for the 23 lap sprint on Sunday. As the end of the FP2 session inched closer, the 2013 Moto2 World Champion sped to a best time of 1’48.283 on his penultimate lap that left him in 10th overall, but only 0.159 back from 6th. He will carry on his work in free practice 3 as he looks to guide his Yamaha YZR-M1 to a strong qualifying position in final 15 minute shootout tomorrow.
Bradley Smith
Position : 5thTime : 1’48.038 Laps : 42
“The first day has been really positive and I am pleased with how the bike feels at this circuit, which I am a big fan of. We have been fast from the word go which is a good opening to the weekend especially as we have struggled here a little bit in the past. Yet today, I was able to ride the bike exactly how I wanted to and I sampled both types of compound for the front and rear tyres, so now we have a good indication of which direction to head towards. I’m even happier as I still feel there is room for improvement as my lap was not quite perfect. Tomorrow we need to work a small amount on the balance of the bike, especially in the afternoon when the temperature increases, as this will be critical for the race on Sunday. Overall, we’re less than two tenths back from the factory Yamaha of Lorenzo, so we are in a good place, but tomorrow we need to make another step forward to get into the 1’47 lap times.”
Pol Espargaro
Position : 10thTime : 1’48.283 Laps : 39
“The day started in a good fashion this morning, but the second free practice session was a bit more challenging. For some reason, I didn’t feel too comfortable on the bike and the lap times did not come easily, so we have to check the data and make a good plan for tomorrow. Nevertheless, the gap to the guys in front is very small as we are all so close together, which is positive, but for today a 10th position finish is nothing to be happy about. However, there are some positives to take. We tried a front tyre which I actually quite liked but the best thing is that my arm is definitely doing much better than I expected and I hope it won’t influence my race too much.”
More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:
Abraham stays on 17 position in Mugello testing new suspension
Karel Abraham reached 17th lap time at the beginning of MotoGP weekend in Italy. The team tested new Showa shock absorber, which is more resistant to the high temperature to eliminate problems from the beginning of 2015 season.
Karel Abraham
“We are still working on the suspension. We got new parts and it seems to be more convenient. We tried a softer tyre in the afternoon and it was quite satisfying. Generally I feel that we made a step forward and I´m getting more comfortable on the bike.”
Marco Grana
chief mechanic AB Motoracing
“Showa provides us new modified rear shock absorber to solve our problems. It seems to be better, but it will take lot of precious time to find new basic setup to follow a new path to better results.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia:
Promising opening day for Redding in Italy
Mugello, Italy – 29 May 2015: After a difficult couple of races Scott Redding was back on form on the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix, with the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider ending the day eighth fastest. Completing 38 laps Redding was able to consolidate his place from this morning and end the day comfortably inside the top ten.
Redding has struggled to gel with the Honda RC213V at times this year but the Englishman has been close to unlocking the potential of the bike at numerous races. Today however he was able to finally build his confidence and start to show his potential on the bike.
The 22-year-old won the Moto2 race at Mugello in 2013 and from the outset today he was immediately more comfortable on the bike compared to recent races and has given himself a solid platform to build on for the rest of the weekend.
Scott Redding: 8th – 1’48.164
“The feeling with the bike is a little bit better here. I know that I need to change a few things with my style and we need to change a few things with the bike. We were held up a little on the fast lap but it still felt good. We’ve a few things that we need to try to help me a little bit more but the main thing is that I’m starting to get the feeling back about how it should be when I ride the bike. It’s just a matter of building up the confidence more and more now.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“That was not a bad day and we are improving and getting closer to the front people than we were in recent races and hopefully that can continue tomorrow. Saturday is obviously an important day and it looks like Scott is much happier with the bike and that we have erased some of the problems that we had last weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Tees Off Action in Tuscany
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi kicked off the first day at Mugello, claiming third and ninth place respectively in the combined session times.
Barberino del Mugello (Italy), 29th May 2015
After two very successful weekends in Jerez and Le Mans, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were back on track for the first free practice sessions at Autodromo del Mugello. Lorenzo‘s love for the Tuscan circuit clearly showed in his consistent pace as he secured third in the combined session times ahead of this weekend‘s Gran Premio d’Italia. Rossi focused on finding the right setting and tyre option and finished ninth.
Still in good spirits from scoring two back-to-back victories, Lorenzo was eager to get back aboard his YZR-M1 at the start of the 45-minute morning session. With a clear track in front of him, he soon topped the standings before being pushed down the order when times started to drop. However, he was quick to respond and finished in second place.
The afternoon session saw a similar turn of events. The four-time World Champion kept the momentum going and was quick to ride his YZR-M1 to the top of the rankings. Despite not being entirely satisfied with his set-up, he remained a key protagonist throughout the session and finished the day in third place with a 1‘47.852 lap.
Local hero Rossi also enjoyed riding in the Tuscan sunshine as he prepared for his first home race weekend of the season. Aiming to add another top performance to his five-consecutive podium run, he consistently improved his pace throughout the morning practice to finish in sixth place.
The nine-time World Champion further improved his time in FP2. Encouraged by the loud cheering of the Italian fans, he briefly took over the top spot from his teammate, but it wasn‘t to last and he was pushed back to third. He used the remaining time to focus on finding the right tyre option for Sunday‘s race. His fastest lap of 1’48.211 saw him finishing the day in ninth position.
These results see Lorenzo placed third in the combined session times, 0.373s from the front, with Rossi in ninth, 0.732s off today‘s fastest time.
JORGE LORENZO
I‘m not completely satisfied with the way the bike is working. Concerning the setting of my YZR-M1, I think we have a big margin for improvement. Little by little we are going to make progress in most of the corners, but to begin the weekend with second and third place and a good pace is a nice start. Let‘s see if we can improve the bike and lose half a second in terms of pace tomorrow, because I think it can be much better.
VALENTINO ROSSI
We started the afternoon practice well. I didn‘t feel so bad with the bike and I had quite a good pace. I was quite happy, but I had some problems under braking. We tried to modify the setting so I could brake harder, but we didn‘t find a good solution and at the end I came back out on my normal bike and decided to try the harder tyre on the front and rear. The front wasn‘t so bad, but the rear was a bit too hard and I didn‘t have enough grip on the left side for me to push to the maximum. However, it‘s good for us to try these things to gain data and tomorrow we try to modify and to improve the bike, especially under braking in the last section. It looks like Jorge had the best pace, but Dovi is also fast and so is Marquez. It‘s only Friday, so it‘s too early to say who will be the hardest to beat, but they seem to be in good shape.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
We had a good start to the weekend, but we still have a lot of work to do to improve the bikes behaviour. We had the possibility to test different tyre choices today and we collected some useful information. Jorge‘s lap times were really good and his pace was consistent. We need to improve on Vale‘s side but we still have time. It will be important to fix these things as soon as possible, because starting from the front will be very important here.
More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:
Good start for Bradl at Mugello
It was a remarkable start for the Athinà Forward Racing team on the home track of Mugello. Stefan Bradl ended the afternoon session at the Top of the Open standings with a time of 1’48.694 in 16th place.
After struggling in the first round in the morning, the German found a good feeling on the Italian circuit and has improved his time by more than a second, getting the head of the Open. Bradl is confident for qualifying where the goal is the pole position in the Open class.
It was a good day of work also for his team mate Loris Baz who finished with a best of 1’49.661 in 21st place. The Frenchman focused on the development of the bike and on the race pace to be competitive on a track as particular as Mugello.
Stefan Bradl
“We can be happy today. This morning we struggled but in the afternoon we were able to make a good step forward. We are working in the right direction, the pace is good and I am confident for qualifying”.
Loris Baz
“It was an intense day of work. In the first session the sensations were positive considering that several years have passed since last time I came to this track. It is really an incredible circuit but it’s also pretty tough. I struggled more in the afternoon, we have been using worn tires just to try some solutions for the race. Compared to Le Mans we made a step forward: the bike turns better, I just need to find more grip”.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Dovizioso leads the way in free practice at the end of Day 1 of the TIM Italian GP at Mugello. Iannone goes fourth, while Pirro sets twelfth-quickest time
The first day of free practice for the TIM Italian GP at Mugello began well for the Ducati Team. Andrea Dovizioso ended today’s two 45-minute sessions in first place, while his team-mate Andrea Iannone finished the day in fourth place, despite the problem with his left shoulder which he injured during testing at the Tuscany circuit on May 12th. Michele Pirro also put in a good performance, the Ducati Test Team test-rider twelfth quickest in the combined timesheets in his first race of the season as a wild-card with the Desmosedici GP15.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’47.479 (1st)
“I am very happy with how this weekend has started for us and above all with the time I set at the end of the session. We are quick and this is fundamental in the search for the best set-up. We are still carrying out some tests in order to improve certain aspects of the Desmosedici GP15 that will allow us to be competitive right until the end of the race. Now we must concentrate on the analysis of the data so that we can have a clear starting-point to work on for tomorrow.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’47.940 (4th)
“I had hoped to be in a better condition but instead I am having to make a big effort on this track, more than I expected. It’s not so much a question of pain, it’s more that I need too much strength, which in this moment I simply don’t have. I am not able to move my left shoulder the way I want to and so I’m losing a lot in the changes in direction, and there are a lot of them here at Mugello. I have to grit my teeth and do my best. As for the bike, I am quite pleased, we knew that the GP15 would be competitive here, I’m just sorry I’m not in the best condition to be able to make the best of its performance.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 1’48.317 (12th)
“I am satisfied but at the same time a bit angry. On my best lap I came up on traffic which led to me losing a few tenths, but I’m only eight-tenths of a second away from Dovizioso, and for me, in my first race with the GP15, that’s not bad at all. I found a much higher level than last year: I’m twelfth and less than a second from the top, so I’m confident about tomorrow, when I will try and get into Q2 because I feel sure the bike has the potential to do so.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Yonny 11th and Danilo 13th after friday’s free practices at Mugello
The first day of the italian Grand Prix offers some very positive indications for Octo Pramc Racing concerning tomorrow qualifications but also for the Sunday race taking place in Mugello.
Yonny Hernandez lapped very fast in the FP1 setting the fifth quickest laptime ( 1’48.304). In the afternoon, unfortunately, the Colombian rider did not manage to do the little step that would have allowed him to get in the first 10. He managed to finish at the 11th position of the combined Friday classification with 21 milliseconds away from the Top 10.
Unfortunately, allthough the day had some promising moments, Danilo Petrucci, did not manage to use at its best the soft tyre during the attacck of FP2. During the morning tests, the rider from Terni seemed very concentrate being able to lap with very good scores. He finished 13th with 157 milliseconds away from the Top 10. In the afternoon, Petrux improved and he regestered the second Top Speed of the day (348,6). In terms of laptime he was able to low by 2 tenths of a second his best crono of the morning with 1’48.419. In the Friday combined standings he ended 13th.
Yonny 11th and Danilo 13th after friday’s free practices at Mugello
11° Yonny Hernandez – Octo Pramac Racing #68 – 1’48.304
I am satisfied: the feeling with the bike is very good. Maybe I still have some little problem in handling and in the last part of FP2 I made a few mistakes but I’m sure tomorrow I can do better. I rode very fast in FP1. And this gives me great confidence for FP3 and to enter directly in Q2.
13° Danilo Petrucci – Octo Pramac Racing #9 – 1’48419
How did it go? Well because I was ahead almost around the whole turn. I usually do the opposite, I come out in the end, but this time… I went out from Q2 in the end. With a full tank and the hard tyre I did practically the same time registered with the soft tire and low fuel. But these are positive signs especially for the race pace. Both in FP1 and FP2 we were constantly in the Top 10. Unfortunately I missed the fastest lap but the confidence is still so great. The speed record? I lapped strong but Barbera beat me by a whisker. You bet: tomorrow morning I will try again.
More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:
Dovizioso puts Ducati on top in Italian Grand Prix Friday practice
Friday, 29 May 2015
Mugello, Italy
Bridgestone slick compounds: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium (Asymmetric) & Hard (Symmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds: Hard (Main) & Soft (Alternative)
Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 16-19°C; Track 33-39°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP2 – Dry. Ambient 24-25°C; Track 47-48°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Andrea Dovizioso was the quickest rider on the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix, as the Ducati Team rider circulated the undulating Mugello Circuit under race record pace in this afternoon’s Free Practice Two session.
Running the combination of the medium compound front and rear slick tyres, Dovizioso set a time of 1’47.479 towards the end of FP2 to finish the day 0.164 seconds ahead of last year’s Italian Grand Prix winner, Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez in second place. Third quickest overall today was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo, who’s best time of 1’47.852 was 0.373 seconds off Dovizioso’s benchmark time. Out of the twenty-six riders contesting this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, twenty were able to improve on their lap time in the afternoon FP2 session.
Conditions for both of today’s sessions were exemplary with warm, sunny conditions and a slight breeze. Track temperatures in the morning session were in the mid to high thirty-degree range and rose to a peak of 48°C during FP2. The stable and favourable conditions enabled the riders to test a wide range of tyre combinations, with every slick option in Bridgestone’s Italian Grand Prix allocation being evaluated at some stage today. The medium compound front and rear slicks were the most popular choice on the opening day, although the hard compound front and rear slicks were assessed by some riders in the afternoon FP2 session. The soft compound front slick was only used during FP1, when riders were gauging the condition of the circuit at the start of the day.
The weather forecast indicates that conditions tomorrow will be a carbon-copy of today, with a peak ambient temperature of around twenty-four degrees and no chance of rain. The next MotoGP™ session, Free Practice 3 will commence at 0955 local time (GMT +2) tomorrow.
Masao Azuma – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“Last year at Mugello we had some rain on the first day, so I am happy that this year we had almost perfect conditions in both sessions. The good weather allowed the riders to try many different tyre combinations and the pace already is very quick. Good performance from the front of the bike is very important at this track, and it appears that the two most popular front slicks today, the medium and hard compound, have strengths in different areas. The medium front gives better cornering performance, while the hard front is better under heavy braking. So it will be interesting to see which option emerges as the favourite race option. For the rear tyre, the medium compound rear slick was the most popular option, but I think we could also see the soft and hard rear options continued to be used over the race weekend, as getting the best balance between performance and durability at this high-grip circuit is a key factor during the race. I am quite pleased at how the first day at Mugello went, and with similar weather conditions forecast for tomorrow we have another good opportunity to help the riders decide on their favoured tyre combination.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
FIRST DAY OF MOTOGP PRACTICE AT MUGELLO
The seamless gearbox makes its debut on the Aprilia RS-GP bikes ridden by Bautista and Melandri. The chassis and setups have also undergone many changes
Mugello Circuit (Italy), 29 May 2015 – The first day of free practice at the Italian Grand Prix forced Aprilia Racing Team Gresini to set an extraordinary work pace. In fact, if the entire 2015 season is set up as a long and demanding test of the MotoGP project’s growth for the Italian team, the home round is characterised by a series of development changes on the Aprilia V4.
As already announced, the seamless gearbox made its début on Friday. This is a continuous shifting system which, after the tests that only Bautista conducted at the post-Jerez sessions, here it is available for both riders. Some changes to the setup and chassis arrived as well for the RS-GP bikes. A series of new solutions tested directly in the races in accordance with the spirit of this championship season.
At the end of the first day Alvaro finished in 21st place (1’49.741) whereas Melandri had the 26th best time at 1’51.800.
ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)
“We brought the seamless gearbox to the races for the first time. It worked very well with both riders and this is an important step taken. It is quite significant that even Melandri, who also tried the bike with the conventional gearbox today, confirmed the clear difference between the two solutions. Marco also tried a front end with various rigidity but that doesn’t seem like the right direction for us. At the moment we are focusing a lot on the setup because that’s where we want to improve the most.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)
“We are really working a lot on various areas of the bike, trying a lot of new parts, so in this first phase we certainly couldn’t expect immediate progress. We are continuing our policy of baby steps and we hope to see the first signs of progress as early as tomorrow. We are all fully committed, from Aprilia to the team and the riders, so we will continue to stay focused and confident as tomorrow approaches.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“This morning I tried a more tapered saddle with new ergonomics which make me feel a bit more comfortable on the bike, in addition to the seamless gearbox and an engine evolution. On the gearbox I had the same good feelings as the tests at Jerez so I’m satisfied. In the afternoon I tried a smaller fairing which performed well in the wind tunnel and on the track it also seems to provide some advantages in terms of more agility. The bike still tends to go wide coming into turns but tomorrow I’ll have both the bikes fitted with all the changes so it will be easier to focus on chassis comparisons, which is the area where I think we have the most room for improvement.”
MARCO MELANDRI
“Today I was able to try the new seamless gearbox for the first time and it works well. Aprilia did a good job. As for the chassis the situation hasn’t changed and I had the same problems that have continued to slow me down since the beginning of the year. So tomorrow we’ll try to work more on the chassis to improve.”
More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:
350.1 km/h, Barbera flies in Mugello
29/05/15 Avintia Racing MotoGP – Grand Prix of Italy – FP1 – FP2
Good start of the Italian Grand Prix for the Avintia Racing team with Hector Barbera again leading the standings in the Open Class after the two first 45 minutes free practice sessions in Mugello. But today the Avintia Racing rider was protagonist after breaking the 350 km/h barrier with his Ducati in Mugello’s long straight, although the MotoGP record still from Marc Marquez in the opening race in Qatar when he made 350.5 km/h. But for Hector is not important to be the fastest in the straight, the most important is to get good results.
Mike Di Meglio made a step forward from this morning to this afternoon session as he improved a lot his feeling with the Avintia Racing Ducati. The French rider is convinced that is possible to go even better tomorrow when he’ll try to get the best possible position on the grid for Sunday’s race.
HECTOR BARBERA #8 / 16th (P1 Open) 1’48.675 @HectorBarbera
We used two bikes completely different today in terms of set up. In the morning we made the session with one bike that was quite nervous and destroyed my arms. But in the afternoon, after some work, I felt much more confortable with the bike. Anyway we have one more day and we can improve. In the combined standings of the day we are the fastest Open Class bike, so we can say it was a good first day. The bike is really fast, but here in Italy we always go very fast and we reach incredible speeds. But for me the speed is not as important as the results.
MIKE DI MEGLIO #63 / 22nd (P7 Open) 1’49.729 @Mikejpp63
In the morning was quite difficult and I finished quite far from the top. But we made a step forward in the afternoon. I tried to be more relax and not push at 101 per cent every lap, because crashing doesn´t help and I prefer to have some margin and work harder to keep moving forward. I’m happy because we have tested many things and now we have to sit and decide which one we’ll use tomorrow. The most important is that I improved my feelings, so overall it was a good first day.
More, from a press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
CRUTCHLOW SATISFIED WITH START AT MUGELLO
Cal Crutchlow made a positive start to the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Mugello on Friday as he went sixth quickest on the opening day of practice for the Italian Grand Prix in Tuscany.
The CMW LCR Honda rider was only tenth fastest in this morning’s opening free practice session, but bettered his time by over three tenths of a second in the afternoon as he finished a little over half a second behind Andrea Dovizioso who topped the timesheets.
The Briton was pleased with his opening day’s work and, while admitting there is still plenty of room for improvement, insisted he now had a plan of attack for the rest of the weekend.
Cal Crutchlow #35 (6th – 1’48.124)
“I was quite pleased, we did a very, very good lap time with 27 laps on the tyre in the afternoon, but the problem came when we put the new ones on at the end as we didn’t go much quicker. We definitely need to improve, but I think I know the areas where I want to improve – in the first sector we’re losing a lot of time, but the rest is not too bad.
“We’ve had a good start to the year, we had a podium in Argentina and a fourth in Jerez. We had problems in some of the other races, but I’m quite happy and the package is working well.
“I’m gaining experience with the bike all the time, it’s quite a difficult bike to ride – you have to change your riding style a lot and it’s very different to what I’m used to. But I’m enjoying it a lot, learning all the time and the team are doing a good job.”
More, from another press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
MILLER PLEASED WITH HIS START TO MUGELLO WEEKEND
Jack Miller enjoyed an encouraging opening day at the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Mugello on Friday as he ended 19th quickest during free practice for the Italian Grand Prix.
The CWM LCR rookie struggled in the morning session somewhat as he lapped nearly two seconds behind the riders at the head of the field. However, he made real progress in the afternoon, shaving the best part of a second off his time to make up ground on those ahead of him.
The Australian believes there is more to come and admitted he was relishing the challenge of tacking the beautiful but testing Tuscan circuit on a MotoGP machine.
Jack Miller #43 (19th – 1’49.030)
“I’m happier with this afternoon’s session, we made some big steps with the bike and I became more comfortable. Now we can start to work more on the smaller settings.
“I am happy to be riding here at Mugello, I’m really enjoying it as it’s an amazing track, although it’s completely different with the MotoGP bike. It’s a real eye-opener! I have been looking forward to coming here and now we’re here it’s really nice.
“We still have to make some steps forward to the front of the field, but we are 1.5 seconds from first place so we are not too far away. We need to keep working hard, but for now I’m very happy.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Dovizioso and Ducati dominate opening day at #ItalianGP
Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso dominated the opening day at Mugello, topping both Free Practice sessions. High temperatures and a beautiful Tuscan blue sky reigned over a nearly crash-free morning.
Ducati were always going to be a force to be reckoned with at their home track, especially as the Factory team completed a private test at the Tuscany circuit recently, and they sent the partisan crowd home happy after topping the combined timesheets after day one of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
Dovizioso improved his time from the morning session by over four-tenths of a second to set a 1’47.479. The Italian hitting the ground running straight away in FP1, clearly taking advantage of the data gathered during that test to find a good set-up straight away.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez improved throughout the day as he tried a number of different set-up combinations in an effort to deal with the front-end issues and engine problems the RC213V has been suffering from this season. The reigning MotoGP™ World Champion seemed to find something that worked, as he ended the day just 0.164s behind Dovizioso in second place overall.
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo came to Mugello full of confidence following his comprehensive victories at Jerez and Le Mans, and straight away, he looked fast and smooth around the 5.2km circuit. The Spaniard, who has not finished outside the top two in the last 6 races at Mugello, set the third fastest time of the day, just 0.373s off the top.
It was a good day for British riders as Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith ended the day in fifth as the leading satellite rider, managing to finish just ahead of his compatriot Cal Crutchlow on the CWM LCR Honda, with less than a tenth of a second separating the two.
Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS’s Scott Redding showed signs of improvement as he finished in eighth overall, just behind the injured Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in seventh. Espargaro underwent surgery on his right thumb to repair a damaged ligament after Le Mans and he was finding it hard to get enough brake pressure through his injured hand, with his team saying they will assess his injury session by session.
It was another hard first day of Free Practice for the current MotoGP™ World Championship leader Valentino Rossi, who found himself down in ninth place on the combined timesheets. Once again, the Italian struggled during the Friday of a Grand Prix weekend, emphasising his woes by running off track late on in FP2 as he pushed too hard.
Pol Espargaro completed the top ten on the second Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1, with Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera finishing as the top Open class rider in 16th. The only MotoGP rider who sustained a crash was Eugene Laverty, in an extraordinarily calm morning for the track marshals, as they only had to assist with 5 falls during the evening FP2 sessions.
Check out the combined MotoGP™ Free Practice times from Friday at Mugello; FP3 is scheduled to start at 9:55am local time on Saturday.
Rabat on top by just 0.001s after day one of #ItalianGP
Tito Rabat became the fastest ever Moto2™ rider around the Autodromo del Mugello on Friday, beating Johann Zarco into second by 0.001s.
Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS’s Rabat, the reigning Moto2™ World Champion, broke the lap record at the Tuscany circuit as he recorded a 1’52.311, the fastest ever time set by a Moto2™ bike.
Current championship leader, Johann Zarco, finished in second by the slenderest of margins, just 0.001s behind Rabat, as he too went faster than Pol Espargaro’s Pole Record (1’52.369) from 2012.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes was fastest during FP1 in the morning, but had to settle for third overall, 0.354s behind Rabat. Le Mans race winner Thomas Luthi, on the Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex, also had a good day as he finished in fourth on the combined timesheets. The Swiss rider has often struggled in the past with consistency, and will be hoping to back up his winning performance at the French GP with another good performance in Mugello.
Athina Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi also managed to lap under the 1’53 mark, as he finished 0.611s back from Rabat in fifth. Takaaki Nakagami made it into the top six on the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex with a 1’53.139, with AGR Team’s Axel Pons in seventh, while Alex Rins on the Paginas Amarillas HP40 bike was eighth fastest overall.
Sandro Cortese on the Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Xavier Simeon were ninth and tenth respectively, with less than a second separating the top ten. Marcel Schrotter (Tech 3) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Athinà Forward Racing) were the only two crashers,
Check out the combined times from day one of Moto2™ Free Practice at Mugello here; FP3 is due to kick off at 10:55 local time in Mugello on Saturday.
Italian riders set pace on first day of Moto3™ Practice
Ongetta-Rivacold’s Niccolo Antonelli set the pace on the first day of practice in Mugello, after Enea Bastianini had topped FP1.
It was another good day for Italian riders in front of their passionate home fans, as they carried on where they had left on in Le Mans. After locking out the podium at the French GP, Gresini Racing Moto3’s Bastianini led the way in FP1, before Antonelli set the fastest time of the day in FP2 to top the combined timesheets with a 1’57.616. This time was two-tenths faster than the Circuit Record at Mugello set during the race in 2013 by Efren Vazquez, although it is still some way off Alex Rins’ Pole Record from last year, a 1’56.999.
Leopard Racing’s Vazquez improved by over a second throughout the day to end the day in 2nd overall, although he was 0.585s behind Antonelli. Isaac Viñales (+0.613s) was only a further 0.028s further back from Vazquez, as he showed that the Husqvarna Factory Laglisse could be a force to be reckoned with over the weekend.
Miguel Oliveira (+0.620s) was the fastest KTM in fourth ahead of Bastianini, who was one of only a handful of riders to not improve on their time from the morning, while the race winner from Le Mans, Sky Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati, finished the day in sixth.
Moto3™ World Championship leader Danny Kent found himself down in seventh on the combined timesheets after setting the 2nd quickest time during the morning session.
Bastianini’s teammate Andrea Locatelli finished the day in eighth overall, while Brad Binder and Alessandro Tonucci completed the top ten. Niklas Ajo (RBA Racing team) added his 7th crash of the season in the Casanova corner, and Darryn Binder (Outox Reset Drink Team) lost control of his bike in the Bucine, on turn 15.
Check out the combined results from the first day of Moto3™ Free Practice; FP3 is due to start at 9:00am local time in Mugello on Saturday.
More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:
POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders open Italian GP with contrasting practice sessions
Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty begin well in morning at Mugello but suffer afternoon inconveniences
Mugello welcomed the MotoGP riders with bright sunshine and temperatures hovering around 25ºC on Friday, as the Italian GP weekend began. It was shown on the opening day that Ducati had done their homework at the exclusive test that took place there recently, as Andrea Dovizioso topped the timesheets in both of the practice sessions held. The Italian rider lapped below the circuit record and close to the best lap ever set at Mugello. His overwhelming dominance served as a warning to his rivals.
Nicky Hayden began this morning with the setup used in France, and managed to take the sixteenth fastest time – 1.3 seconds off the top spot. Unfortunately, in the afternoon he was not so lucky and right at the start a traction control issue forced him to return to the garage. Once the crew had discovered it was just an electronic glitch, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider was able to get back on track -but could not improve his morning best time.
Eugene Laverty also set his best pace and fastest lap of the day in the morning. The Northern Irishman placed twentieth in the first session, but an afternoon crash on the last corner of the Mugello track prevented him from going higher than twenty-third. Laverty identified the setup of his front forks as the culprit for the crash, and will look to eradicate excessive sliding in tomorrow’s practice sessions.
20th Nicky Hayden 1.49.261 (35 laps): “This morning things went quite well. We started with a setup similar to at Le Mans and the pace was optimal. We found a couple of things that we need to work on, but overall we were happy. However, in the afternoon we suffered some setbacks. After completing the first lap of the afternoon session I had to return to the garage because the control panel of my bike showed a warning that my traction control was disabled. We wasted a lot of time on that, but fortunately it was just a glitch. Upon discovering that, we went back out to confirm that everything was working properly -but this circuit is not easy, we had to redo our work and we didn’t have much time at our disposal. At the end we fitted a new rear tyre to try to improve, as we still had the tyres on from the morning. When we put that tyre on, the front end slid out a lot. The second session was not productive for us, so tomorrow we will go back to what we had this morning.”
24th Eugene Laverty 1.49.815 (34 laps): “I’d gone a long time without crashing and now we have had five crashes since Jerez. All of them have been the same, losing the front, so we have to work to improve the setup and get the front wheel to completely stop sliding. I have confidence in the front tyre and I always try to push, so we have to find a setup for the forks that is much more secure in order to prevent crashes. The lap was still very good, with new tyres, but it was a shame about the crash. I accept my part of the responsibility but hopefully we can learn from this fall. The positive thing is that today, after trying different configurations, we have improved the maneuverability of the bike. I always brake very strongly but I was finding it hard to turn the bike in, and today we carried out a change in geometry thanks to which I can now turn much better. It has not been a big change, but this bike is very sensitive, so a small change has given us a lot and now it seems that the bike weighs 20kg less.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
POSITIVE OPENING DAY DESPITE PAIN AT MUGELLO
The first day of MotoGP™ practice on the Mugello track in Italy was positive for both Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders, despite difficulties for both.
Aleix Espargarò finally managed to bear the pain in his right hand and take to the track. The early laps of the morning session saw him simply testing his riding capabilities to evaluate his performance following the surgery on his hand. There was pain, but the feeling with the hand was good, so he decided to continue running out on track. The two sessions went smoothly, with the Spaniard testing different set-up combinations in order to give him consistency, but with comfort to counterbalance the pain. In the afternoon’s session he eventually scored a very positive 1’48.137s lap that places him in seventh place overall.
Maverick Viñales on his side of the garage worked hard to develop some set-up configurations to exploit his GSX-RR potential at its best. The advantage of the Suzuki chassis is more evident in handling, giving the young Spaniard an advantage especially in the middle sectors of the Mugello lap. His lap times got better-and-better every run, eventually ending the day in 15th place with 1’48.493, less than two-tenths from the top 10.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“At the end this first day turned out to be very positive for us, all things considered. Aleix started this morning in very bad condition: the surgery went well, but he felt a lot of pain. He tried to see how he felt on track and finally he could do both the sessions, ending in seventh place. He has been great; honestly we couldn’t ask any more from him and we are very proud of his toughness and determination. I’m happy also for what Maverick did: The classification is a little bit misleading because even if he sits in 15th place he made a lot of improvements today and he is not far from the top-10. We didn’t have the best outlook before coming here but I must say that today has not been a bad debut. We’ll see tomorrow how it goes.”
Aleix Espargarò:
“I’m happy I finally could ride, I was very worried about my hand and I’m so satisfied that I could finish both of today’s sessions. It hurts a lot because the handlebar pushes on the ligament every time that I brake, and also a week without training is affecting my performance a little, therefore at the moment I can’t run more than three-or-four good laps in a row, but being in seventh place is something we must be proud of. According to my situation we worked a lot on set-up to find the best configuration for short runs. Of course tomorrow we will have to focus also on the race-pace and distance. For this we will work on the bike but I will also evaluate the options we have with the doctors. Today I decided not to take any invasive options for the pain, but I struggled a lot so maybe there is something the doctors can help me with.”
Maverick Viñales:
“It’s been a positive day. Despite the position in classification we did a good job and finally managed to improve our performance run-after-run. We are working to finalise a good set-up that can let me be confident with the bike, so far I feel very confident on the handling part of the track while we suffer on the main straight, but this is not news to us. The important thing is that my GSX-RR is performing in the high-speed corners and in the direction changes, I will exploit this as best I can. For sure tomorrow we want to get a better position for Q2 and also for the grid.”