FIM MotoGP World Championship
Autodromo del Mugello, Italy
May 20, 2016
Free Practice One Results (damp conditions, all on Michelin tires):
1. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), 1:47.696
2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:48.157
3. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:48.245
4. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:48.270
5. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:48.290
6. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:48.340
7. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:48.345
8. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:48.406
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:48.458
10. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:48.470
11. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:48.713
12. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:48.752
13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:48.816
14. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:48.832
15. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), 1:49.199
16. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:49.234
17. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:49.648
18. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:49.698
19. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (DUCATI), 1:49.852
20. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:49.913
21. Stefan BRADL, Germany (APRILIA), 1:50.368
22. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:51.055
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Rabat and Miller get up to speed in Mugello
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Tito Rabat and Jack Miller encountered mixed conditions and mixed fortunes on the opening day of MotoGP practice at the majestic Mugello track in Italy.
Rabat was one of only 14 riders to post a time in an FP1 session this morning that was dominated by damp and cool conditions. Rabat only went out on the fast and flowing 5.2km track to familiarise himself with the challenging layout on Honda’s RC213V machine on Michelin’s rain tyres.
The groundwork put in by the Spaniard this morning paid off on a full dry track in FP2, with Rabat finishing in an encouraging 17th place after posting a best time of 1.49.648. The highlight of the first day for the double Mugello Moto2 winner was experiencing the adrenaline rush of hitting close to 340kph on the flat-out home straight.
Conscious of his recent injury problems, Australian Miller opted to sit out this morning’s session to adopt a risk-free start to round six of the 2016 World Championship campaign.
Miller finished just one place and 0.050s behind Rabat but his second practice session was spent searching for improved handling in Mugello’s fast changes of direction.
Tito Rabat: 17th – 1’49.648
“This is such a special track and I really love riding here but to experience the top speed in MotoGP on the start straight was something incredible. It is scary and fun at the same time! In the wet this morning I went out just to try and understand the track on a MotoGP bike and this afternoon I was happy with the progress I made in terms of the lap time. With more grip and better conditions tomorrow I think I can improve and I am looking forward to riding this amazing track again.”
Jack Miller: 18th – 1’49.698
“Unfortunately it has been a difficult start to the weekend and I’m struggling with the bike setting. You need a stable bike for the fast and flowing sections here and we are lacking a little bit of handling in the changes of direction. Each time I change direction the rear just steps out on me, but we have got some ideas on how to improve for tomorrow.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“The weather made it a complicated start to the weekend and we decided not to take any risks with Jack going out considering his recent injury problems. Tito went out for most of the session just to learn the track and get some references on a MotoGP bike, and he got good experience in mixed conditions and using rain tyres too. Tito was strong again this afternoon and until the final 10 minutes he was around 13th position, which is where I think he can normally be. Unfortunately he couldn’t improve on new tyres and we lost some places right at the end, which is not ideal but not as bad as it might look on the timesheets. Jack is struggling a bit with the set-up and he can’t find grip from the rear. Tito has grip so his side of the garage will help Jack to make some improvements tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Espargaro and Smith confidently close day one in Mugello
Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro began his round six campaign by positively finishing the opening day of action in 10th position at the meandering Mugello circuit. This morning, the young Spaniard decided to wait for drier conditions before attempting a fast lap, with only half the field posting lap times on the partially damp track. Nevertheless, when the dry afternoon session started, the 25-year-old quickly got up to speed as he initiated in setting up his Yamaha YZR-M1. During the practice, Espargaro built up his pace before posting his personal best on his 16th lap, which left him only 0.225 back from third position and therefore highly optimistic for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Bradley Smith battled the iconic circuit and concluded the opening day in 15th as he adjusted the base setup of his MotoGP bike for Sunday’s 23 lap sprint. The young Briton launched into action this morning as he gained valuable data in case of further rain this weekend, before finishing the opening practice in 4th whilst using the intermediate Michelin tyres. In FP2, he lunged forward immediately and consistently progressed before setting his best time on the penultimate lap. The positive initial conclusions from the opening shakedown leaves Smith fully confident of lowering his lap time tomorrow and sealing a top tier grid position for the round six fight. .
Pol Espargaro
Position: 10th Time: 1’48.470 Laps: 18
“Today has been a solid start to the weekend, even if our position is quite far behind in tenth. However, the lap time itself is not that bad because we are just 0.3 of a second from Jorge and 0.2 from Valentino which is acceptable after only one practice session. Also, the times are so close that an improvement of a couple of tenths could mean that you end up in fourth position. Yet, we need to be able to run these times alone, more consistently as well as more comfortably and this seems to be our issue at the moment. However, my positive feeling from the test in Jerez and also from Le Mans stays the same, and we are just suffering quite a lot on this track due to the strong engine characteristics of the Ducati MotoGP bikes. This makes it challenging to stay with them at this high-speed circuit. Nevertheless, I am still very positive for Sunday because of last year’s 6th place finish where I was able to fight for the entire race.”
Bradley Smith
Position: 15th Time: 1’49.199 Laps: 30
“This morning the conditions were mixed, so it was the perfect chance for us to try the new intermediate tyres that Michelin brought here. I think that most of the riders who tested them had something positive to say. In terms of safety and options for riders, it’s good to have the intermediates available because it will prevent us from having to use a rain tyre on a dry track and vice versa. Already, it seems that the option they brought here is a good step up from the version that I tested in Sepang and I am happy to see that. This afternoon, we had a small technical issue with bike one, which meant that we had to run with my second bike. Initially, the setting felt ok so we tried some rear shock settings and we needed to confirm the information from Le Mans to ensure that we’re going in the right direction. I’m pleased to say that, for me, the positive factors from the last GP remain and are working well here. The lap time is not the best at the moment and it seems that we’re struggling mainly in sector three plus, a little bit in the other areas too. Therefore, we need to focus tonight and try to make a better bike for tomorrow in order to be able to ride consistently in the 48’s, but I am confident we can achieve this.”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
LORENZO AND ROSSI TAKE SECOND AND SIXTH IN MIXED TUSCAN FREE PRACTICE
Despite not setting a time in a damp morning session due to tricky track conditions, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi made a strong start to the Gran Premio d’Italia weekend. Eager to impress at their team‘s first home Grand Prix of the season, the teammates pushed hard in the afternoon to make up for lost time in the morning and secured second and sixth in the combined session times.
Mugello Circuit (Italy), 20th May 2016
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi enjoyed their first day at the ‘Autodromo del Mugello’ track in the Tuscan sunshine in the afternoon and set some competitive lap times when the sun came out in the afternoon.
Lorenzo decided not to take any risks and remained seated in the Yamaha Factory Racing team‘s pit box during the FP1 session. What he missed in action in the morning, he made up for in the afternoon. The current leader of the championship made clear how much he loves the Mugello circuit, by setting multiple fast laps and challenging at the top of the standings throughout the FP2 session. He wrapped up the day in second place with a best lap of 1‘48.157s, 0.461s from first.
Teammate Rossi had been looking forward to entertaining his home fans so much that not even the rainy weather conditions could stop him in the morning. He cleverly used the 45-minutes of free practice time to do eight practice starts from pit lane. However, as he immediately returned to the pits after each attempt, he did not set a time for the morning classification.
In the afternoon, the Doctor was able to start working on his settings. He worked on improving the balance of the bike and bettering his setting to suit the last sector of the demanding Mugello circuit. He set a best time of 1’48.340 and ended the day in sixth place, 0.644s from the front.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
Though the conditions were not ideal, it was a good first day for us in Mugello. The morning session was damp, contrarily to what has been forecast for the rest of the weekend. For this reason we decided it was not necessary to go out to set a time in the morning, instead Vale used FP1 as an opportunity to test some solutions to perfect his starts and practiced them as he exited pit lane. When the sun came out in the afternoon, our hands were itching to begin work. We started in the right way for Jorge and the set up is working well for him. His pace is fast and consistent, even with an used tyre, and he is feeling good with the bike. Vale also booked progress throughout the afternoon session as he concentrated on bettering his race setting, especially on the second part of the track. There is some work to do, but we still have enough time before the race on Sunday.
JORGE LORENZO
I set a 1‘48.4s on the first run so that is a good lap time at this track on this bike with these tyres. In the last run, with the same tyres, I improved the lap time even more, so the feeling, starting with this setting, is good. Tomorrow, I think we can improve everything a little bit more and go faster.
VALENTINO ROSSI
It‘s always difficult here. Mugello is one of the best tracks but it‘s very demanding and scary, you have to be very courageous because it‘s very fast. It has a great layout but it‘s difficult to find the right setting. Unfortunately, we lost time this morning due to the weather and we are not OK with the balance of the bike, but for the first practice it was not so bad. The problem is that we are all very close so we have to improve, because especially in the last sector I‘m not fast enough. This morning we didn‘t want to waste time and we had the chance to practice our starts, because this year we have some more problems with the clutch at the starts and we tried some different stuff, so at the end it was an important test.
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
MOTOGP – FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT MUGELLO
THE APRILIA RS-GP TAKES ON THE TUSCAN CIRCUIT FOR THE FIRST TIME
Bautista and Bradl’s Aprilia RS-GP machines took on the Mugello circuit for the first time today in the Italian GP Friday practice sessions.
The Tuscan track, with its extreme variety and technical layout, is a top shelf test bench for the Italian bike which, in its maiden season and after five GP rounds, has achieved excellent reliability but has a way to go in terms of pure performance.
On the first day, the first free practice session was basically useless due to the damp track conditions that made the rain tyres ineffective and the slicks unusable.
FP2, held in the dry, was dedicated to a general fine tuning, so the Aprilias were on the track with two powerplants that have been used several times. The new V4 engines will be used tomorrow when, once the initial chassis setups have been selected, the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders will compete in the qualifiers, looking for the best spot on the starting grid and with no choice but to improve on the times they set today: 1’49,913 for Alvaro Bautista and 1’50,368 for Stefan Bradl, times which placed them respectively in 20th and 21st place at the end of the day.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
“We lapped very little today since this morning we basically lost FP1 due to the track conditions. In the afternoon we realised that we need to do a good job with the chassis and the setup, because we need to improve on direction changes. We also used an engine that is nearing the end of its life and, on a track like this one with a long straight stretch and a lot of acceleration sections, that definitely means losing a few tenths. So I’m sure that tomorrow we’ll be able to improve”.
STEFAN BRADL
“This was a pretty complicated day. First of all because in FP1 we didn’t go out due to the damp track, whereas in FP2 I wasn’t able to find my usual feeling. I didn’t feel very confident with the front and coming out of the corners the bike tends to move around a bit too much. We have a long road ahead of us now, but we will begin to analyse the data straight away with the team, trying to resolve the situation so that we can improve”.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Andrea Iannone produces terrific form to lead the first day of free practice for the Italian GP at Mugello. Michele Pirro third and Andrea Dovizioso thirteenth
Andrea Iannone got off to a superb start on the first day of the Italian Grand Prix, which is being held at the Mugello Circuit this weekend. The Abruzzo-born rider notched up the quickest time of the day with a lap of 1’47.696, which he set in the second free practice session.
Michele Pirro, running in this race as a wild-card entry with the Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Test Team, was also on good form. The man from Southern Italy was classified in third place, behind Jorge Lorenzo, with a time of 1’48.245.
Andrea Dovizioso’s day was on the other hand conditioned by a severe pain in his neck that prevented him from riding at his best. The Romagna-born rider could only finish in thirteenth place.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’47.696” (1st)
“I am pleased because here at Mugello we are racing at home, it’s a very important race for us and so we absolutely have to work to the best of our potential. At the start of the afternoon session I struggled a bit because the track did not have as much rubber as it did when we tested here before Le Mans. We’ve got a bit less grip, especially at the rear, and at the start my feeling wasn’t so good. Then the feeling improved and I was able to push hard. In the end it was a very positive session, although tomorrow we still have to improve certain aspects, which we have already identified.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 1’48.245 (3rd)
“I am happy today, because everything went well on my first outing this year in a race with the Ducati Team. We’ve got a good pace, but we still have to improve a few things. I am confident about tomorrow because today I did quite a few laps in 1’48 and, if we can improve the feeling even more, I feel sure we can be even quicker.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’48.816 (13th)
“Unfortunately I had a problem with my neck that prevented me from moving my head back so I was forced to ride in an unnatural position on the bike. We did everything possible to solve the problem with my physiotherapist and the Clinica Mobile and I thank them for that, but in any case I was hampered by this problem. The track conditions are a bit different to the test a few weeks ago, and so we will have to work well to adapt to the ones here now.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez and Pedrosa begin working on setup in mixed conditions at Mugello
Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa recorded the fifth and 11th best lap times on the opening day of the Italian GP, where action was affected by mixed weather conditions, more-or-less halving the track time available.
Cold temperatures and a damp surface limited Dani and Marc to just a couple of laps in FP1, the first at the beginning of the session on full wet tyres, the latter toward the end and, for the first time, on Michelin’s intermediate tyres.
The afternoon FP2 session saw some improvements in both weather and track conditions, allowing the Repsol Honda duo to start working on their bikes’ setup. Focused on making the most of the session, neither Marc nor Dani fit new tyres at the end of the session to set their fastest lap and wrapped up the day just over one tenth and five tenths off the second-best time, respectively.
The weather forecast seems better for tomorrow’s third free practice session, which is scheduled for 9:55 a.m. local time.
Marc Marquez
5TH 1’48.290
“I’m happy with how practice went today overall, despite having finished fifth because my feeling was pretty good. I think there is room for improvement, but I guess that’s the same for all the riders, because I expected to be a little further off and the difference turned out not to have been much. We will continue with the same dynamic, because we know that this is a difficult track and that the conditions will improve. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, as today was a special day because of the wet track in FP1. However, the times in the second session were good. Let’s see if we can gradually become more consistent, because the feeling at the moment is pretty good”.
Dani Pedrosa
11TH 1’48.713
“We have not started too badly here at Mugello but honestly nothing special. The behaviour of the bike is more or less the same as at other circuits. The tyres have not worked badly at all, the grip was good enough and we have set decent times but we are still suffering on the corners and on the straights. At the moment our strength here is on corner entry while we’re still not quick enough in the middle and on corner exit. We cannot keep the best line so we will have to try and work to improve in that area. We have to find a good compromise for this beautiful and very physically and demanding circuit”.
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Octo Pramac Yakhnich ends satisfied Friday at Mugello: Scott 8th, Petrux 12th
Octo Pramac Yakhnich ends up with satisfaction the first day of the Gran Premio d’Italia at Mugello Circuit. Scott Redding won a precious eighth position just three tenths behind Jorge Lorenzo’s second time. Danilo Petrucci finished in 12th position that still give extra confidence ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.
In a day characterized by an uncertain weather in the morning, which affected the Fp1 and the Andrea Iannone’s extraordinary performance in FP2 with a stunning 1’47.696,
Scott managed to be at once incisive in the morning session, despite the difficult condition of the track due to the rain fallen during the night.
In the afternoon, the British rider confirmed a good feeling with his Ducati Desmosedici GP setting a lap-time of 1’48.406.
Danilo lapped fast too, especially in the T1 (third overall) but missing something in T2. He got a time of 1’48.752, with the prospect of doing well tomorrow.
8 – SCOTT REDDING
1’48.406
“It has been a good start for the weekend. I was hoping to do well today as in Le Mans I had started badly. I found feeling and I have to say that the workout that I made earlier this week in Italy gave me great benefits. I am confident for tomorrow and I am sure I can be able to compete for direct access to the Q2.”
12 – DANILO PETRUCCI
1’48.752
“I am pretty satisfied with this first day. It is clear that I am still not at 100% and I have to continue to check my hand conditions, but I am confident. We had a problem with the bike-1 during Fp2 and it was the bike I had more feeling with. So I think we may be able to lower the time tomorrow. I want to qualify directly to the Q2, a goal that is for me a kind of taboo”
More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:
Aspar Team riders make strong start at Mugello
Yonny Hernández leads FP1 before finishing fourteenth in a second session that saw Eugene Laverty crash
The Mugello circuit played host to the opening day of the Italian Grand Prix today under cloudy skies and although the rain stayed away the imperfect track conditions for first free practice saw a number of riders prefer to stay in their garage. Aspar Team rider Yonny Hernándeztook the opportunity to set the fastest time of the session, running the new intermediate Michelin tyres with impressive effect on the damp track as he clocked a 1’54.199. Fastest in the afternoon was factory Ducati rider Andrea Iannone, who took seven seconds off Hernández’s morning benchmark to top the combined classification ahead of series leader Jorge Lorenzo. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro impressed with the third fastest time ahead of Aleix Espargaró in fourth, with Lorenzo’s main title rivals Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi rounding out the top six.
Aspar Team rider Yonny Hernández adapted better than anybody to the mixed conditions in the opening session, caused by rainfall some hours earlier. Hernández was one of the first riders out on the new intermediate Michelins and he was the fastest by a gap of some seven tenths. In the second session the Colombian was fourteenth quickest, just over a second off Lorenzo, with narrow differences between all of the riders considering that this circuit measures more than five kilometres in length. Hernández was only three tenths off the top ten today, giving him real hope of a challenge for Q2 tomorrow. His team-mate Eugene Laverty was seventh fastest this morning but was unable to draw too many conclusions as his track time was limited by a crash in the second session. The Irishman will now have to complete his set-up programme in the two remaining free practice sessions tomorrow before qualifying.
14th Yonny Hernández 1.48.832 (24 laps): “I am really happy to have started the weekend like this. To see myself in first position this morning was a great satisfaction. I felt comfortable in the wet and I was pleasantly surprised by the performance level of the intermediate tyres. I also felt comfortable in the afternoon, my pace was good and we took the opportunity to test the new hard tyre, although it turned out to be too hard. Tomorrow I will try to be in the top ten, it wasn’t possible in the end today but we are only three tenths off so in general it has been a positive day and now we will work on the set-up of the bike to find those few missing tenths. Hopefully we can qualify well and I would love to be fighting for a place in Q2.”
19th Eugene Laverty 1.49.852 (15 laps): “You never need a crash but today’s was untimely because we missed the session this morning so everybody was trying to fit two sessions into one this afternoon. My first exit was good but on the second one I got caught out by the hard right hand side of the tyre. I thought it was up to temperature but it clearly wasn’t and it tucked in and let go. It’s a shame that we lost the rest of the session but we did a 49.8 on the hard tyre on the first run so that’s a positive. I think that tyre will be okay tomorrow and Sunday, it’s just the conditions so far are not what we are used to at Mugello and it probably needed another half a lap. My target this season is to go directly into Q2 but now I think we need to use FP3 and FP4 to prepare ourselves for Q1, focus on improving the bike and make up for the time we have lost today.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Iannone ignites at Ducati’s home
Times improve by over five seconds as Mugello dries, Iannone, Lorenzo and Pirro ending Friday as the three quickest riders.
With only 14 riders having set times in Free Practice 1, the second session of the day was actually the first time on track at Mugello for several riders. The start of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM had been hit by rain, but there were no such issues in Free Practice 2. Yonny Hernandez (Aspar Team MotoGP) had been the fastest rider in FP1 but his 1’54.199 was quickly demolished.
All the MotoGP™ World Championship riders were able to improve their times considerably in the session. Quickest of them all was Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) who set a 1’47.696 to end 0.461s ahead of second place. He might be off to Team Suzuki Ecstar in 2017, but Ducati and Iannone still have business to finish in 2016. Mugello in 2015 was the scene of Iannone’s first MotoGP™ World Championship pole position and he could easily achieve a second premier class pole if his form continues.
Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was immediately up to speed after sitting out Free Practice 1. He set a 1’48.157 to edge within half a second of Iannone. Lorenzo once again tried a new version of his helmet with an extended rear section.
Wildcard Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) was again up towards the sharp end, ending as the third fastest rider of the day. A slipstream behind Lorenzo assisted his time, but Pirro often produces his best results in front of the hoards of Italians who fill the hills of Mugello.
Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar) concluded Friday as the fourth fastest rider, just over a tenth off Jorge Lorenzo. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was the leading Honda in fifth. Starting somewhat down the order is not unusual for Marquez who has often struggled at the circuit, having won just once in the premier class.
The distance from second to sixth was nail bitingly close, never more than a tenth of a second splitting two riders. 0.644s off Iannone’s time, but only two tenths from second, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) started his home round well and is already up to speed with his rivals.
Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were all inside the top ten. Despite Iannone’s considerable lead, they all managed to end within a second of his time.
Having just announced his contract extension with Honda, Dani Pedrosa’s (Repsol Honda Team) weekend got off to a less than ideal start as he finished 11th. The Italian GP is also Pedrosa’s 250th Grand Prix start, the Spaniard aiming to celebrate the achievement with a bang. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) also had a rough start to the weekend with the 13th fastest time. Fortunately conditions are looking good for Saturday and Sunday, giving both a chance to improve.
Mugello will again be filled with the terrific sound of the 1000cc MotoGP™ bikes at 09:55 Local Time when Free Practice 3 begins.
Improvements continue in Mugello as Zarco leads on Friday
Improved conditions brought improved times as the intermediate class upped the pace with Zarco ending fastest ahead of Cortese and Nakagami.
The Moto2™ World Championship was the only class with two sessions where slicks were appropriate to use. As a result they did not experience the dramatic drop in times like the lightweight and premier classes, times instead steadily improving during the session. As in the previous two classes, all riders would eventually set their best times of the day during the second session.
A rapid final lap of 1’52.944 rocketed Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) to the top of Free Practice 2, the Frenchman controlling both sessions at the Italian GP on Friday. His time in the second session was over half a second quicker than in the morning session, the reigning Moto2™ World Champion back to his best after a tough home weekend.
Having missed the French GP due to injury, Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) made a superb return to action as he wrapped up Friday as the second fastest rider. The German was only 0.049s slower than Zarco’s best time. Cortese, like several other riders, had his final lap time cancelled for exceeding track limits. Fortunately this was not his fastest time.
Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) again started the weekend well, 0.065s behind Zarco and only 0.016s behind Cortese in second place. The slipstream proved to be a helpful tool to gain several vital tenths at the end of a lap.
Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) ended fourth having made progress with his Kalex during a test in Misano ahead of the weekend. Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) also started the weekend off on the right foot as he ended fifth and a mere 0.125s back on Zarco.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team), Xavier Simeon (QMMF Racing Team), Luca Marini (Forward Team), Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) completed the top ten.
Championship leader Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) finished the day in 11th ahead of fellow front runner Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten). From Zarco in first to Danny Kent (Leopard Racing) in 20th, there was just one second dividing all the riders.
Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing) was an early faller in the session as he came off his Speed Up at Turn 2. He was immediately on his feet and picking up his bike.
Free Practice 3 for the intermediate class at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM begins at 10:55 Local Time on Saturday.
Ono ends Friday in control as Mugello dries
A hot track produced some hot lap times as Ono leads Free Practice 2 in the lightweight class ahead of Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio.
After spending Free Practice 1 on a damp and cold Mugello circuit, riders in the Moto3™ World Championship were pleased to see the sun as Free Practice 2 began. It came as no surprise that times improved dramatically from the morning session, Khairul Idham Pawi (Honda Team Asia) leading FP1 with a 2’09.992, but the sun rapidly dried and warmed the 5.245 kilometres of the Mugello circuit.
Improving his time by over ten seconds, Hiroki Ono (Honda Team Asia) continued to show well in Mugello. A 1’58.489 saw the Japanese rider lead the day overall at one of his favourite circuits. In 2015 Ono stared from second on the grid, his first, and so far only, front row start in the World Championship.
Not known for their top end speed, Mahindra proved Mugello isn’t all about the straight as Francesco Bagnaia (Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3) produced a 1’58.760 to end second. Bagnaia has been strong in almost every round of the year so far and will no doubt be in the podium hunt again.
Rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3) was able to end the session in third place after Jorge Martin (Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3) had his lap time cut for running wide at Turn 5. Di Giannantonio arrives in Mugello fresh off a private test in Misano.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was immediately up to speed having only done a handful of laps in FP1. All of the top four were able to lap in the 1’58s. His championship rival Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) ended right behind him in fifth.
Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46), Juanfran Guevara (RBA Racing Team), Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) and Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) were all inside the top ten.
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3) had his first run on track after breaking his wrist before Le Mans, ending 10th with his wrist suffering.
Saturday will host the next Moto3™ session at 09:00 Local Time.
More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:
Difficult start for Barbera and Baz in Italy
Following yesterday’s rain, the Mugello circuit had some wet patches for the first free practice session and the conditions were not the best for the rider’s confidence. Only 14 of the 22 MotoGP riders went out on the track, and two of them were the Avintia Racing riders, Hector Barbera and Loris Baz. The Spaniard did just five laps on wet tyres, while Baz spent more time on the track after taking some risks riding his Ducati on slick tyres.
In the afternoon, in almost perfect conditions, both riders went out on the track, but Barbera and Baz suffered technical problems that prevented them from taking full advantage of the 45 minutes FP2 session. Hector did just ten laps on his second bike and finished the day 16th, which was far from the expectations of the Avintia Racing rider before coming to Mugello. Tomorrow he expects to improve considerably. For Baz things went even worse as he didn’t get a good feeling riding his second bike.
Hector Barbera | 1’49.234 | P16
“Today was a difficult day. In the morning, the track condition was not good and there were plenty of wet patches, so it made no sense to take risks. In the afternoon, I was only able to complete six laps. We had technical problems with one bike and then I was not comfortable with the settings of my second bike. We had planned to try something on this bike, which either would or wouldn’t work, but it became obvious that it was not the right choice at all. With not much time available, I did my best to make a fast lap, but it was not enough. I’m disappointed because I love this track and today we were off the pace. Until now we had no issues this season, and when this happens for the first time it’s difficult to react in time. But I’m confident about tomorrow.”
Loris Baz | 1’51.055 | P22
“This morning I was quite happy after taking some risks with slicks on a partly damp track. The way the track conditions were, it was not possible to use wet tyres and after trying the intermediates in Argentina we knew that the slicks were a better option. With dry tyres you can feel better when you hit a wet patch, and t’is easier to find the limit. I did many laps with a good feeling. In the afternoon, something broke on the bike at the beginning of the session and then riding my second bike the chatter from Le Mans came back. I can’t go any faster without getting close to crashing at every corner. Tomorrow we have to test a new front tyre from Michelin and I hope that this will improve things.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
CRUTCHLOW MAKES GOOD START TO ITALIAN GP WEEKEND
Cal Crutchlow made a positive start to the Italian round placing his Custom branded RC213V in ninth position. The first practice in the morning was almost useless, with a damp track meaning the riders only got to lap on wet and intermediate tyres.
The sun came out during the lunch break to ensure a fully dry second session, in which Crutchlow was running as top Honda for much of the session, only bettered in the end by a late lap from Marc Marquez, and putting him firmly amongst a tight group of riders from second to tenth, who were all separated by just three-tenths of a second.
#35 Cal Crutchlow – 9th (1’48.458)
“It’s been a strange day, because obviously we missed out on the first session because of the damp track, and we need as many sessions as we can get with the Honda at the moment. We’re in a bit of a loop at the moment as regards our settings on the engine and electronics, because with sealed engines you can only improve so much. We just don’t have enough time on a race weekend to do what we want to do, and try what we want to try.
“In the end it wasn’t too bad today, although the bike is moving a lot and it takes a lot of manual control. That’s not too strange for a track like Mugello though, and in the end we’re just losing out in the same areas as at other races. I felt quite comfortable on the bike, and I like this track, but I feel it’s going to be a long race.”
More, form a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
STRONG START AT MUGELLO FOR ESPARGARÓ AND VIÑALES
Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales both got off to a strong start in the opening Free Practice sessions today at the Autodromo del Mugello for the sixth round of the MotoGP™ World Championship.
Espargaró put his GSX-RR Suzuki into fourth place in the closing stages of FP2 with a lap-time of 1’48.270 on his 15th of 17 laps, while Viñales – who led the session at one stage – secured seventh with a 1’48.345 on his 18th of 19 laps at the scenic 5.245km Italian circuit; and where just 0.649-of-a-second separated the top seven riders.
The morning session was affected by track conditions; the rain that fell copiously yesterday left the track in a mixed situation – too dry for rain tyres and still too humid for the slicks. Because of this, many riders chose not to take the risk of a crash, plus the weather forecast predicted sun for tomorrow. However, both Viñales and Espargaró took the last minutes of the session to try the new intermediate tyres that Michelin has introduced this year; and their first impressions were positive, although they could only put-in a few laps.
The sun finally shone in the afternoon and this dried the circuit, allowing riders to start their real work to get ready for the race, as this preparation had been the priority for both Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders from the start. The whole session was a thrilling one, with Viñales frequently among the top riders and very close to the leading position. In fact, for most of the 45 minutes, all the top riders were less-than half a second apart, but finally, Espargaró managed to challenge the leading group as well with a renewed boost.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“We started the Italian weekend with a positive performance. This morning the conditions were not good enough to make the work needed and we lost some time, but both riders could, however, try the new intermediate tyres and experience them first. Then, in the afternoon, we immediately found positive set-ups and we started improving. Aleix took a little more time, he worked hard between his two bikes and towards the end of the session he also found a good time attack. Maverick, instead, was fast from the very beginning and continued working with a worn tyre. Both of their priorities were to work for the race as we lost the morning session.”
Aleix Espargaró:
“It’s been a good start, I like this track very much and I’m happy to see that we are finally competitive. Last year here we suffered a lot with the top-speed but now we have pretty-much closed the gap. Unfortunately, I can’t benefit 100% because I’m very tall, but for sure Suzuki has made a huge step forward on this. Today in practice I couldn’t find a very good feeling, I felt it was hard to make the changes of direction as I wanted and this is something we must improve on because Mugello has many chicanes. Despite this problem, I made a very good lap time which is a positive thing and it means we still have some potential to be explored tomorrow. It looks that on Sunday it’s going to be hot, therefore the consistency of performance on the distance will be the key factor for the race. We are working on this, already thinking for the race to get well prepared is the priority, and then we will think in qualifying to get a good place to start from.”
Maverick Viñales:
“I feel it’s been a positive day, but unfortunately we lost the morning session because of the weather conditions and had to recover in the afternoon. We focused on the race, and I did many laps with only one set of tyres. Despite this, my best lap-time is not so bad which means we can be much faster tomorrow. We are already thinking about the race, as this is the priority, but tomorrow we will also need to focus on the grid position and the start. Here in Mugello, overtaking is pretty hard, therefore the better the start, the more advantage you will get.”