Gran Premi Monster Energy De Catalunya
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
June 15, 2018
Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):
1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.930
2. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 1:39.037
3. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:39.422
4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.443
5. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:39.458
6. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.619
7. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 1:39.633
8. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:39.655
9. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), 1:39.782
10. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.851
11. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:39.989
12. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.990
13. Mika Kallio, Finland (KTM), 1:40.004
14. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 1:40.265
15. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 1:40.309
16. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:40.399
17. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:40.450
18. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:40.508
19. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:40.541
20. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:40.608
21. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 1:40.697
22. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), 1:40.728
23. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 1:40.815
24. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 1:40.975
25. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:41.229
26. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:41.361
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech3:
Monster Yamaha Tech3 pair delivers superb opening to Catalan GP
With a great team effort, Johann Zarco and Hafizh Syahrin showed an impressive performance today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. While Zarco powered to eighth position in the combined standings, he improved his lap time from this mornings’ FP1 to the afternoon session by 0.3 seconds.
In the meantime, MotoGP rookie Syahrin did fantastic to reach the top 10 for the first time on Friday, snatching a provisional Q2 entry. The crucial third Free Practice is set to commence at 9.55 local time tomorrow, before both Monster Yamaha Tech3 riders fight for the best grid position ahead of the seventh round of the 2018 season.
Johann Zarco
Position: 8th – Time: 1’39.633 – Laps: 37
“I’m happy about this first day in Barcelona, because I feel much better than in Mugello and the test we did before was very useful. Immediately we felt good on the bike and we can play with a few things, while always being with the top guys. It’s always good to feel this again and we’re working. It’s complicate to go much faster, but I hope to understand everything together with my team in order to prepare the race in the best possible way. During this first day we’ve been competitive and much more comfortable than two weeks ago.”
Hafizh Syahrin
Position: 10th – Time: 1’39.782 – Laps: 38
“I feel very good and happy, because it was my target to arrive in the top 10, ready for Q2, but tomorrow is another day and I’m sure that Marquez will be strong in FP3. Anyway, we made a huge step from the last test and I have a very good feeling with the bike. Thank you to all my guys, because they gave me a very good package on this first day. I think I have some kind of extra motivation, because this is like my second home GP. I try to push myself and give my best. The target is to go directly to Q2.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
FIRST DAY OF MOTOGP PRACTICE IN BARCELONA
APRILIA ON THE HUNT FOR THE RIGHT SETTINGS FOR QUALIFYING TOMORROW
After a promising FP1, full of good indications and concluding just outside the top ten, Aleix Espargaró ran into some unexpected difficulties in the second session, characterised by high heat on the Spanish track. The altered temperature conditions resulted in a situation of poor grip for the number 41 RS-GP and all the various changes to the settings and tyres proved to be in vain. Aleix was one of the very few who did not improve their times from the morning, finishing the day with the 17th best time at 1’40.388. His attack on the high end of the standings will therefore be postponed until tomorrow in FP3 which, as always, will be the decisive session to see who will go straight through to the second qualifying session.
Scott Redding, also hindered by a crash that was harmless for the rider, finished the combined standings in 23rd place with a time of 1’40.815.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“In the morning I felt good, but in the afternoon I found myself with very little grip both at the front and on the rear tyre. I tried all three tyre options on the rear and the two up front, but we did not find a solution that works well. It is a very strange sensation with poor control at the front when I close the throttle. In the morning, I started with a setting similar to the one used at Mugello, but in the afternoon everything changed and I switched to a different setting, so now we need to analyse the data well in order to figure out which direction to go for tomorrow.”
SCOTT REDDING
“I turned a lot of laps today without making too many changes and trying several tyre types. I felt rather good with the hard tyres, although we struggle a bit in braking. Overall, the biggest difficulty is speed on the flying lap. There is not much difference between a lap with used and new tyres and that is an aspect that I want to improve. The crash was strange. I was a bit off my line and as soon as I released the brake, I lost the front end.”
More, from a press release issued by Pablo Nieto Team:
BAUTISTA FINISHES HALF A SECOND OFF THE TOP TEN IN BARCELONA
Comapa Ángel Nieto Team kick off Grand Prix of Catalunya in sunshine and perfect conditions
Jorge Lorenzo followed up his first win with Ducati at Mugello with the fastest time on the opening day of the Grand Prix of Catalunya, clocking a 1’38.930 on his way to being the only rider from the 26-man field to break the 1’39 barrier today. Andrea Iannone and Maverick Viñales completed the top three with series leader Marc Márquez lying in twelfth position after setting his best lap of the day in the morning session.
The Comapa Ángel Nieto Team kicked off the weekend with Álvaro Bautista in fourteenth position, just half a second off the top ten despite the fact that the team did not manage to test here before the race and had to spend today figuring out how the different tyres work on the new asphalt. Karel Abraham was unable to venture any higher than 26th position today after struggling for front end feeling with his bike. The Czech rider is hoping to find improvements with his crew tomorrow so that he can be back in the battle for points in Barcelona.
14th Álvaro Bautista 1:40.265 (32 laps): “After the last few races, fourteenth on the first day is not a bad start, we are closer to the top ten. We didn’t test here like the other teams so we started out at a disadvantage and had to spend time working on which tyres we need to use for the race. It seems like the soft tyres last longer than last year, which is positive because it means we might be able to race the soft on Sunday. In general today was spent working on the race.”
26th Karel Abraham 1:41.361 (21 laps): “It is a while since I have been happy and again I am not happy today. I am trying to push but I don’t feel good on the bike. The rear is okay but with the front I don’t have a feeling on the brakes, or in the middle of the corner, or the exit. So I’m not happy at the moment, we have a lot of work ahead of us. The bike feels physical to ride and like this it is really hard to go fast. We have to find some improvements to make tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Ducati:
#CatalanGP FP. Petrux is in great shape (6th). Jack is convincing even if he doesn’t find the lap-time.
The weekend of the Gran Premi de Catalunya kicks off well for Alma Pramac Racing. Danilo Petrucci ends the first day of action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in sixth position after a remarkable FP2. Jack Miller ended up in P16 without finding the ideal conditions for a time attack but the indications are positive.
In the FP1 Danilo Petrucci became familiar with the new layout of the circuit and in the afternoon session began to push hard on both race pace and time attack. In the second and fourth sector, the rider from Terni is very incisive (5th and 6th time) and the lap-time of 1’39.619 allows him to close sixth, less than two tenths from the front row.
Jack laps very strong in the FP1 and on the last lap – with the hard tire at the rear – is on the levels of the Top 3 until the fourth sector. A contact with Bradley Smith, however, causes him to crash. Also in the FP2, the Australian rider continues to run strong but he can’t find the right situation to complete the time attack.
P6 Danilo Petrucci – 1’39.619
“I’m happy with this first day. I went very fast also with used tires. We have to control the consumption of the rear tire but we have found a good way. Tomorrow will be a great battle and the goal is to enter directly into Q2”.
P16 Jack Miller – 1’40.608
“We have made good progress in terms of set-up. We still need to solve some problems, especially in fast corners. All things considered I am satisfied with what we have done today. Tomorrow it will be important to make a good time attack in Fp3”.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
ANDREA IANNONE SECOND QUICKEST ON OPENING DAY
Andrea Iannone: 2nd – 1:39.037 (+ 0.107)
Alex Rins: 18th – 1:40.399 (+ 1.469)
Sylvain Guintoli: 25th – 1.41.229 (+ 2.299)
• Iannone 2nd with promising early pace.
•Alex Rins hampered by a late crash.
•Sylvain Guintoli re-familiarising himself with GSX-RR.
Friday morning at Montmelo brought the anticipated sunny skies and warm temperatures, making for a pleasant start to proceedings. The Catalan track has been recently resurfaced and the riders used some of FP1 to get a feel for the new asphalt as well as the modified layout.
Andrea Iannone began FP1 with strong pace but the Italian suffered a very small crash at the tricky Turn 10 with 35 minutes left of the session – although he quickly rejoined and fought back by taking 2nd place with a 1:40.274. As the session drew on the riders switched their focus to set-up and tyres, and were shuffled down the order as the chequered flag came out.
In the afternoon’s FP2 session both the pace and the weather hotted up, Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone started strongly and kept their lap times close to the top of the sheet, with Iannone around half a second off. Towards the end of the session, as the riders made their final push, there were a few crashes. Unfortunately Alex Rins was one of these; although the Spaniard was thankfully uninjured. Iannone, however, was able to set an excellent time to bring himself up to 2nd place, just +0.107 from the fastest rider. He also topped sector 3, and was 2nd quickest through sectors 2 and 4.
Sylvain Guintoli, who is re-familiarising himself with the GSX-RR, used all of Day 1 to focus on adjustments.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It’s been a ‘working Friday’! In the end Andrea was able to make a very good lap time during his time attack and his pace was good. But we also used the session to try different tyres and work for the race, and now we have some information for tomorrow. Alex also worked on settings and tyres for the race, and he didn’t try a time attack, which is why he’s quite far down. The important thing is that we got good information today and tomorrow morning we’ll try to capitalise on the work we did today and stay within the Top 10.”
Andrea Iannone
“It has been a positive day for us for sure, and I have a good feeling with my bike on this track, and during the test we worked really well which helped. This morning and this afternoon, at the beginning of the sessions, we tried a few different tyre configurations including the hard front and rear. In the end we have finished today with good lap times, we’ve improved a lot, and both me and the team have a really good feeling. It’s important to continue like this and try to improve a little bit more tomorrow, especially on the braking points.”
Alex Rins
“Today was a very important and positive day because we could work in a good way. The asphalt of the track and the layout is new and also when you go a bit wide in some corners it seems a bit dirty and the bike starts to slide, but it’s the same for everybody. Overall we did good work today with used tyres and this morning and in the afternoon we did a great job with the pace. Now it’s time to check the new tyre to try to achieve the first objective and entry into Q2.”
Sylvain Guintoli
“Today was OK, we’re much closer than last year in terms of Day 1. Today we had some parts to assess so I haven’t really had a go at a time attack yet or used the soft tyre. It’s going well and I’m enjoying it, I hope tomorrow we can find more pace with the soft tyres and get more speed. The test we had here helped a lot, especially in terms of the new surface and the layout – the new tarmac has fewer bumps and I prefer this layout as it’s much safer and also more enjoyable.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Repsol Honda Team tackle first day of the Catalan Grand Prix
Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa began their preparations for the Catalan Grand Prix on a sunny opening day at the newly resurfaced Montmelo Circuit, which has a revised layout. Dani set the 12th fastest lap time in the FP1 session and the eighth fastest in FP2, wrapping up the day ninth in the combined standings.
Marc Marquez was in fine form beginning with the morning session, when he posted the third fastest lap time. The reigning World Champion was also keeping a very good pace on used tyres in the afternoon FP2 session, but a crash in the final phases cost him the chance to improve his performance, leaving him in 12th position on the combined timesheets.
Dani Pedrosa 26
9TH 1’39.655
“I think today was positive enough, as we were able to improve our rhythm over the course of the day, after a slow start. We managed to exploit the track time quite well, testing a lot of tyres. That’s also good from the perspective of the work we’re doing, because we already understand which one we want to work with. I think that’s an important step in view of the race. Another significant aspect we would like to improve is our speed over a single lap, but as I said, we gained some pace today and I’m happy with that.”
Marc Marquez 93
12TH 1’39.882
“Looking at the standings today, you could say we’re quite far back, but actually we’re not bad at all and most importantly, we worked very well on used tyres and have a good rhythm. We still have a small thing to adjust in the electronics setup, but we think we understood where we have to work; if we’re able to sort it out, we’ll have the possibility to improve a lot tomorrow. It seems that with the new asphalt, everything is very, very tight, and it’s more difficult to make a difference. There’s big difference between lapping on new tyres and on old tyres, so we must manage that aspect well.”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
MOVISTAR YAMAHA BOOST CONFIDENCE AT BEGINNING OF CATALAN GP
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales put in hard work to make a good start to his home GP in today’s hot and sunny conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He took third place in the combined free practice time sheets. Valentino Rossi was on form in the morning session, securing first position. He spent the afternoon working on various setting and tyre options and ended the first day of the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya in fifth place in the combined rankings.
Montmeló (Spain), 15th June 2018
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi showed speed at the start of the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya weekend. The teammates used every minute of the two free practice sessions to improve their bikes’ base settings and took third and fifth place respectively in the combined standings.
The Catalan GP is a special event for Viñales, who is excited to be riding in front of his home fans this weekend. Debuting a special helmet to commemorate his close friend Luis Salom, the youngster was quick to try his race pace with the base set-up they established at the Catalunya test three weeks ago. The work paid off, as he improved his lap time on every run and ultimately secured sixth place with a best lap of 1’40.114s, 0.658s behind his teammate in first place.
The afternoon practice saw the temperatures go up to 28°C, changing the track conditions, but Viñales’ determination and work ethic were unaffected. The local hero was quick to respond when the pace of the rider field increased at the end of the session, and he set a 1’39.422s to briefly hold first place. He ended the day in third position in both the FP2 and the combined free practice results, 0.492s from first.
Rossi’s love for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was clear to see as the Grand Prix weekend kicked off. He had decided on setting a fast lap in the cooler morning session, before getting stuck in to working on the balance of the bike and tyre-life in FP2, and he carried out the plan perfectly. After getting a feel for the track in his first two runs, he put in a soft-soft tyre combination and finished FP1 in first place with a 1’39.456s, 0.347s in front of his closest rival.
In the afternoon the Doctor completed part two of the plan. He carried on where he left off, starting proceedings with the exact same tyres, and focused on comparing various tyre spec and setting combinations for the entire duration of FP2. His fastest lap of the session, a 1’39.989s put him in eleventh place in the rankings, 1.059s from the front. However, his fastest FP1 lap still earned him fifth place in the combined timings, 0.526s from the top.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
We‘ve had a busy start to the Catalan GP, but also quite a rewarding one. Thanks to the test here three weeks ago we had an idea of how to start proceedings. We were able to commence the weekend with already a good bike set-up in place and this gave us the possibility to improve it with less time pressure. While Maverick used the entire day to focus on his race pace, especially concerning the first laps on a new tyre with a full tank, Valentino put a lot of effort into fine-tuning his bike‘s set-up and also comparing almost all the tyre specifications. Both riders have a few aspects that they would like to improve, so that‘s what we will work on tonight, to make these elements better for tomorrow‘s FP3.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
I think we can make another step here in Catalunya for tomorrow, though we already improved the bike quite a lot today, especially in FP2 in the hot conditions. We have to keep working and keep focusing on the way to improve the bike. We‘ve been working a lot on improving my feeling in the first laps of the race and I think we also have an idea that we’ll try tomorrow. I‘m going to make all runs with a race set-up and do laps and more laps, that‘s what I like. To get onto the first row tomorrow will be very important.
VALENTINO ROSSI
To be in first position is always a good feeling. We used soft tyres this morning because this afternoon we needed to work a lot on the different tyres to try to get an understanding for the race. As always, the choice is very open, both front and rear. We tried to understand, but we need to make more kilometres tomorrow. We need to work on the bike also, but the first impression of the first day is positive.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Jorge Lorenzo tops the timesheets on Day 1 of free practice action for the Catalan GP. Andrea Dovizioso finishes fourth in the combined standings at Montmeló
Jorge Lorenzo ended the first day of free practice action for the Catalan GP, round 7 of the championship held this weekend at the Montmeló circuit, at the top of the timesheets. The Ducati Team’s Spanish rider, who had set third-quickest time this morning, lapped in an excellent pace in the afternoon session and set a time of 1’38.930 towards the end of FP2, which put him on provisional pole position.
Fourth quickest was Andrea Dovizioso, who was classified in second place in the morning’s FP1 session. The Italian set a time of 1’39.443 towards the end of the second session, after bolting on a set of soft tyres for his time-attack, like almost all the other riders.
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99): 1st (1’38.930)
“We have begun this Catalan GP weekend well and have shown that we have a very competitive base. The track has changed but my feelings are very good and in addition the Montmeló circuit has always been one of those where I manage to get the best out of my riding style. Ever since the test a few weeks ago we were convinced that we could be very quick here and we confirmed it both this morning and in the afternoon, when we also lapped with a very good race pace. We must continue in this way tomorrow to try and get a front-row grid start, which will be very important for the race.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04): 4th (1’39.443)
“It wasn’t a very easy day because, even though the track is really good with the new asphalt, the grip is strange and we will have to work well to be in good shape for the race. The behaviour of the tyres is quite strange and it’s not easy to manage the bike, but we have a good pace and we are amongst the fastest, so I’m happy with the way today went.”
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Good Friday for Tito Rabat and Xavier Simeon on the opening day at Catalunya
Reale Avintia Racing – GP of Catalunya– Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
The Grand Prix of Catalunya started in a positive way for Reale Avintia Racing riders Tito Rabat and Xavier Simeon. Rabat finished the opening day in 11th place with a best lap time of 1’39.851 and he has a strong race pace for Sunday. He now hopes to go straight to the Q2 qualifying session for the Top Ten riders of the MotoGP class tomorrow and also to score a top result at his home Grand Prix on Sunday. The Spaniard, who suffered a big crash during the test held at this track a few weeks ago, is happy with the new tarmac and the revised layout, even though he thinks there is room for improvement in certain areas.
Xavier Simeon made a step forward at the Catalonian venue. With a best lap time of 1’40.697, he finished 21st in the combined standings. The MotoGP rookie is on the right track and he is getting closer to achieve his goal that he set at the beginning of the season: to battle within the top 15 places.
The expectations are high for tomorrow’s qualifying sessions and the riders, together with the team, are giving their 100% to honour Andreas Pérez in the race on Sunday.
Tito Rabat | 1’39.851 | P11
“The first day at my home Grand Prix was very positive, as we found a good pace and did some fast laps. We finished 11th today, but I’m confident to be faster tomorrow. We have to keep working to find another few tenths of a second tomorrow. The track surface is very good, it’s really fast now, but the problem is that there is only one race line and if you miss it and get off line, it’s dirty and tricky.”
Xavier Simeon | 1’40.697 | P21
“I’m happy because this morning we finished in 16th place and we were 20th in the afternoon. Even better, we improved our pace on every exit. We are stronger, but we need to keep going in this direction to get closer to the top 15. We improved a lot, also compared with the test we did here, and this is the most positive thing about today. To be faster is good for my morale, because even thoough I was closer to the other riders in the last few races, I always was behind them. Now it’s time to rest and we will push again tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Hammer down: Lorenzo fastest, Marquez 12th
The Mugello race winner leads Iannone and Viñales on day one as Marquez finishes outside the top ten
Mugello race winner Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) was the man to beat on the opening day at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, ending FP2 top of the timesheets after setting a 1:38.930 – the only rider to step under the 1:39 bracket and fastest overall. The Spaniard improved his time by over 0.8 seconds from FP1 after finishing third in the morning, laying down the gauntlet ahead of qualifying on Saturday. Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was able to bounce back after a crash in FP1 and the Italian was the only rider to get within 0.4 seconds of the number 99 on Friday.
One of the biggest talking points from the opening day at the Catalan GP was Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) finishing 12th quickest on the combined timesheets, provisionally missing out on a Q2 spot unless he can improve in FP3. The Spaniard also crashed at Turn 5 towards the end of the session when pushing for a quick lap, rider ok.
Meanwhile, third on the combined timesheets was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales, improving his time by over half a second from FP1 to round out the top three in the afternoon – 0.492 off Lorenzo’s quickest lap. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was second in FP1, with the Italian slipping down to fourth quickest overall in FP2 – 0.513 behind his teammate.
2016 winner Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), quickest in FP1, was the only rider in the top 11 who failed to go quicker in the afternoon session. The Italian finished in P11 in FP2, but his time of 1:39.456 from FP1 was enough to see ‘The Doctor’ end the day fifth fastest overall. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) improved his position by one place from FP1 to end the day sixth fastest, 0.002 behind Rossi’s time and top Independent Team rider.
Fresh from signing a one-year deal with the factory Ducati team in 2019, Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) drastically improved on his 20th position from FP1 in the afternoon to finish seventh overall. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) recovered from an early crash in the session to end the day eighth quickest overall, just ahead of home rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) who improved by three positions from FP1 to end the day ninth.
Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ensured he has a provisional automatic Q2 spot in FP2, the Malaysian rider finished the day an impressive tenth fastest, building on his solid FP1 session.
Can the number 93 bounce back on Saturday ahead of qualifying and get himself straight into Q2? Find out when the premier class head out for FP3 at 09:55 local time (GMT +2), before qualifying from 14:10.
Bagnaia quickest out the blocks in Barcelona
The Italian leads Marquez, Schrötter and Mir, with the top 22 covered by less than a second
Francesco Bagnaia’s (Sky Racing Team VR46) FP1 time was enough to keep the Championship leader at the top of the combined timesheets on Friday at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, leading a trio of Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) – who all set a lap time of 1:44.340.
The afternoon session didn’t see the intermediate class times tumble, with Marquez the only rider in the top five to improve his lap time in FP2, finishing the session quickest ahead of Schrötter. Mir was seventh quickest in the second Free Practice session, unable to set a quicker time from this morning to remain fourth on the combined standings – all three riders sit 0.115 behind Bagnaia.
Pons HP40 replacement rider Augusto Fernandez had a great opening day at the Catalan GP, the Spaniard was 15th in FP2, however his time from FP1 was enough to keep him fifth overall on the combined timesheets. One rider who did improve his time in the afternoon, despite a crash at Turn 10, was Fabio Quartararo (HDR – Speed Up Racing). The Frenchman ended FP2 in third to propel himself into sixth on the combined times after finishing down in 23rd in the morning.
Tetsuta Nagashima (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), 6th in FP1, managed to claim P7 on day one in Catalunya – a solid day for the Japanese rider. The leading KTM on Friday was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who finished sixth in FP2 to cement himself inside the top ten – the South African was eighth overall after failing to improve in the afternoon.
Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP), however, did manage to go quicker in FP2, improving by over three tenths from FP1 to finish ninth overall. Rounding out the top ten was Mugello winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who suffered a crash at Turn 9 in FP2 towards the end of the session. The Portuguese rider was eighth in FP1 and will be fit to fight for pole come qualifying.
The Moto2™ field is looking incredibly close, with a second covering the top 22 riders ahead of Saturday’s track action. Tune in to see the intermediate class head of for FP3 at 10:55 local time (GMT +2) before qualifying later in the afternoon.
Bezzecchi sets the pace on Friday
Moto3™ Championship leader leads teammate Kornfeil on opening day in Barcelona
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrüstelGP) set the quickest time of the day on his final run in FP2 to take top honours on Friday at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. The Italian finished FP1 down in P10 after a crash, but improved his time by over a second in the afternoon to beat teammate Jakub Kornfeil by a slender 0.055 seconds.
The Czech rider built on his third-place finish in FP1 to end the day second on the timesheets, with Jerez race winner Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) making it a KTM 1-2-3 – jumping up to third on his final lap of the session after finishing FP1 in 14th. Another rider to considerably improve his position from the morning session was Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse). The Italian ended FP2 in P4 after a late run to finish 0.117 behind compatriot Bezzecchi, improving his time by nearly 1.5 seconds.
Jorge Martin’s (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) time from thie morning looked like it would remain the quickest of the day until a late flurry of times in FP2, but the Mugello race winner improved by 0.019 seconds to end the day fifth fastest. Bester Capital Dubai’s Jaume Masia ended the day in P6, leapfrogging six positions from the morning, with Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) having a solid afternoon to climb 20 positions from FP1 – the South African seventh quickest on Friday.
Scotland’s John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) climbed into the top ten on his final run, improving from P20 in FP1 to end the day eighth fastest. It was a good day for Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46), after finishing second in FP1, the Italian was able to cement a top ten finish on Friday in ninth, just ahead of Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), who was fourth in FP1.
With just 1.008 seconds covering first place Bezzecchi down to 18th place Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), Saturday is shaping up to be a great day in the Moto3™ class, with FP3 kicking off at 09:00 local time (GMT +2).
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:
CRUTCHLOW ON THE PACE IN BARCELONA
LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow made a solid start at the Grand Prix of Catalunya as he ended the opening day in Montmelo in sixth position. Carrying Castrol Power1 as his title sponsor for the weekend, the Briton was on the pace throughout at the resurfaced Barcelona circuit and is now looking to make further progress during Saturday qualifying.
In warm, sunny conditions, Crutchlow was seventh fastest in FP1 and then improved again to claim fifth spot in the afternoon FP2 session, despite not having the proper feeling with the front of his RC213V. That left him sixth in the combined standings and the 32-year-old is confident there is more to come tomorrow.
Cal Crutchlow –6th
(1’39.458 – lap 15 of 18)
“I was happy with the afternoon session, the team worked well and I think we did a good job to try and use the hard front tyre this afternoon and save one for our allocation of the medium. Overall, the track condition seems to be getting a little bit better as well even though the heat was up in the afternoon. My team and Honda did a good job in FP2 to be able to solve a few issues that I seemed to have this morning and now we look forward to trying to rectify the others tomorrow”.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:
CRUTCHLOW ON THE PACE IN BARCELONA
LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow made a solid start at the Grand Prix of Catalunya as he ended the opening day in Montmelo in sixth position. Carrying Castrol Power1 as his title sponsor for the weekend, the Briton was on the pace throughout at the resurfaced Barcelona circuit and is now looking to make further progress during Saturday qualifying.
In warm, sunny conditions, Crutchlow was seventh fastest in FP1 and then improved again to claim fifth spot in the afternoon FP2 session, despite not having the proper feeling with the front of his RC213V. That left him sixth in the combined standings and the 32-year-old is confident there is more to come tomorrow.
Cal Crutchlow –6th
(1’39.458 – lap 15 of 18)
“I was happy with the afternoon session, the team worked well and I think we did a good job to try and use the hard front tyre this afternoon and save one for our allocation of the medium. Overall, the track condition seems to be getting a little bit better as well even though the heat was up in the afternoon. My team and Honda did a good job in FP2 to be able to solve a few issues that I seemed to have this morning and now we look forward to trying to rectify the others tomorrow”.