Gran Premi Monster Energy De Catalunya

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain

June 9, 2017

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:44.478

2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:44.700

3. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (YAMAHA), 1:44.839

4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.883

5. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:44.890

6. Johann ZARCO, France (YAMAHA), 1:45.063

7. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:45.098

8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:45.116, crash

9. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:45.118

10. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:45.311

11. Scott REDDING, UK (DUCATI), 1:45.375

12. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:45.465

13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (APRILIA), 1:45.554

14. Loris BAZ, France (DUCATI), 1:45.755

15. Sam LOWES, UK (APRILIA), 1:45.760

16. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:45.810

17. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), 1:45.868

18. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:45.932

19. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), 1:45.967

20. Tito RABAT, Spain (HONDA), 1:46.229

21. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KTM), 1:46.946

22. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (SUZUKI), 1:47.002

23. Bradley SMITH, UK (KTM), 1:47.892

Lap time cancelled for riders #5, #25, #26, #53 & #93 due to yellow flag infringement

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

Fast Folger 3rd on day one at Catalunya – Determined Zarco 7th

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 duo undertook two highly positive and notable starts at the Monster Energy sponsored Catalunya Grand Prix today. Young gun Jonas Folger completed the day as the leading Yamaha rider and inside the top three after his impressive speed saw him finish just 0.544 from 1st in FP2. Whilst rapid French rider Johann Zarco closed the afternoon practice in 7th, but only 0.224 behind his teammate as he took his first steps in preparation for the fight on Sunday.

Jonas FOLGER

Position: 3rd – Time: 1’44.839 – Laps: 32

“It was a really strong first day and I am very pleased with how things developed. To be honest, it obviously took some time to adapt and understand the new chicane and it felt a bit strange to ride through that section of the track instead of the previous one. However, we tried a lot of different things today in order to find an immediate direction for the setup of the bike, and now I can say that it was a good choice to do this and we have a clear way. Also, we completed a lot of laps on the medium tyre and in the end we ran the total race distance on one set. Then, I went out on soft tyres and we made a big step forward. It was a very good day for us and we improved every time that I left the pit box, so I hope that we can continue in this positive way tomorrow.”

Johann ZARCO

Position: 7th – Time: 1’45.063 – Laps: 33

“In all honesty, it was a bit complicated today. There is a lot of movement with the bike and I was not as quick as I wanted to be on the medium tyres. Yet, towards the end, we used the soft compounds and I improved and made a step forward. At the end of the day, there are positives as well as negatives so we need to keep calm and carry on working. This will be the key to improving but I am confident with the team and I need to be patient. I think that if we had done the test here like some of the other riders did recently then it would be advantageous right now. However, Yamaha has so many references and they will be back near the front soon, yet the positive point is that Jonas was able to do a good job this afternoon. My feeling is not bad, but I am riding a race bike so sometimes it takes some adjusting and the last chicane is not our biggest issue, as we have some other things to amend at the moment. Anyway, I am confident and looking forward to getting back out on the track tomorrow.”

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

Top six for rapid Rabat in Barcelona practice

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat was in sensational form at the revised Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track today to fire his Honda RC213V machine into the top six in practice.

After the surprise intervention of rain prevented any meaningful laps in FP1 this morning, the second 45-minute practice session took on extra importance, with Rabat and teammate Jack Miller eager to make up for the lost dry track time.

Rabat wasted no time in posing a threat for the top 10 in gloriously hot and sunny conditions this afternoon and a very positive opening day of practice was completed in brilliant fashion by the 27-year-old former Moto2 World Champion.

Rabat’s growing confidence after back-to-back 11th place finishes in Le Mans and Mugello was clear for all to see when he delivered an inspired lap of 1’44.933, which placed him in a superb sixth place and left him just over 0.2s away from Jorge Lorenzo in second.

It turned out to be a more complicated opening day to round seven of the World Championship for Australian Miller, who was learning the new 4.6km layout for the first time after missing a recent two-day test session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya through injury.

Miller was involved in a strange moment in FP1 this morning when he inadvertently missed the new turns 14 and 15 section for a few laps and was using a section of sector four that was implemented during last year’s race weekend.

His absence from the test session and the limited dry track time available this morning proved to be a big hurdle for Miller to overcome, with getting his Honda RC213V to absorb the Barcelona track’s notoriously bumpy sections his biggest challenge.

Tito Rabat: 6th – 1’44.933

“I had a good test here a couple of weeks ago and today we have been able to improve my feeling on the bike. I am faster than I was at the test, so it has been a very positive start. Race set-up is going to be crucial for Sunday’s race because the grip is low and the forecasts say it will be very hot, so making the rear tyre last as long as possible will be critical. Keeping a fast pace will not be easy but I think we can be close to the top 10 again.”

Jack Miller: 17th – 1’45.868

“This morning was interesting to say the least. The weather didn’t help the situation much but it didn’t help too when I spent a lot of laps riding on the wrong track! Once I was riding the correct layout it wasn’t easy this afternoon. Missing the test a couple of weeks ago meant I wasn’t sure where the bumps were when you’re riding flat-out in the dry. And we spent most of FP2 playing around with the suspension to absorb the bumps better and get the new front tyre working. The bumps are an issue before the new chicane and being honest I don’t like that new final part of the lap much. It was introduced to improve safety and I fully understand that, but from a pure riding perspective I don’t like it as much as the layout we were using last year. It’s the same for everybody and I feel better on the bike than I did in Mugello, but we’ll see how much we can close the gap tomorrow.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“It has been a positive start for Tito and he was battling inside the top 10 throughout the second session. He had a very strong ride in Mugello just five days ago and I’m pleased that he has been able to continue that momentum into this weekend in what is a very important home race for him. Jack is on the back foot a little bit after missing the test but I am confident that he can make up for the lost time. And I can deny any rumours that we have fitted satellite navigation to his bike for the remainder of the weekend after his little mishap this morning!”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing

GOOD START AT BARCELONA FOR APRILIA

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ AND SAM LOWES SATISFIED WITH THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE

On the first day of practice at Barcelona, the MotoGP riders took on FP1 with the track in less than perfect conditions due to some morning showers. With the asphalt slowly improving, Aleix Espargaró only turned a few laps, thinking better of risking and saving a set of slicks for the rest of the weekend. Sam Lowes, on the other hand, went out in the second part of the session, taking the opportunity to gain confidence on the Spanish track and stopping the clock with the seventh best time.

The track conditions in the afternoon FP2 session, on the other hand, were perfect, allowing Aprilia Racing Team Gresini to work on preparing for the race. Both of the riders demonstrated a good feeling on the Spanish circuit, especially working on tyre management. However, Aleix’s attempts to exploit the softest tyre in the session finale where thwarted. In fact, he found slower riders on the track that hindered his first attempt, whereas on the second try and the last lap, Baz’s crash forced him to widen his trajectory and slow down. His time of 1’45.554 placed him in fourteenth place. Sam Lowes did a good time with the soft tyre, taking sixteenth place with 1’45.760.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“I’m quite pleased with this day. The position is not accurate because when I put on the new tyre I was unable to do two clean laps, first because of traffic and then because of Baz’s crash on the last chicane. I feel good with the RS-GP, honestly better than I had expected. I found a good pace with the medium tyre. Then, as I said, after I put on the soft I was unfortunately unable to lower my times further. I think we will be able to do a good job tomorrow.”

SAM LOWES

“Things went well today. I am rather happy about FP2, where I had a good pace with the harder tyre. The feeling is good. I am in an encouraging position and it looks like this will be a race where tyre strategy will be fundamental. From this point of view, both in the tests and in these first sessions, I had some good feedback.”

More, from a press release issued by Pull&Bear Aspar Team:

Positive start in Barcelona for the Pull&Bear Aspar Team

Both Álvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham end first day at Montmeló with good sensations and are ready to continue improving in qualifying

After his sixth place at the Italian Grand Prix, Marc Márquez has started his home round with a smile and the fastest lap of MotoGP combined free practice, posting a time of 1’44.295 that nobody else could get close to. Second fastest Jorge Lorenzo was four tenths off his compatriot, whilst Jonas Folger completes the virtual front row ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Tito Rabat.

In the ranks of the Pull&Bear Aspar Team Alvaro Bautista made a strong start to the Grand Prix of Catalunya, finishing in ninth position on the combined times. The Spaniard, who crashed in the new chicane, blamed the fall on taking too much kerb as he looked for a better exit. Bautista still accumulated more than twenty laps on race rubber as he plans for Sunday’s race. His teammate Karel Abraham acknowledged that he had some concerns coming into this round after the results of a test here a few weeks ago but he is happy that he and his team have taken some significant steps forward since then.

9th Álvaro Bautista 1:45.166 (25 laps): “In the morning we only managed a few laps because the track was not in the best condition after the rain, so we can say that we just did a test session. We used it to see how the tyres went with many laps on them. It is important to check the tyre wear here and after 20 laps I felt comfortable, clocking consistent times. The asphalt is very old and bumpy, it is difficult when the tyres lose performance a bit, you are sliding all the time. But you have to adapt to try not to lose too much time in the race when the tyres are dropping off. Unfortunately I crashed in the chicane, passing over the inner part of the kerb, when I tried to check if I could gain a few meters and then make a better exit, but now I know it’s not a good option. This is a difficult section, very slow for our bikes, but it has been done for safety. After that I got back on track, but I did not find the same feeling with the second bike, I could not push to the maximum. We have FP3 to continue working and we will try to enter Q2 directly.”

19th Karel Abraham 1:45.932 (24 laps): “I’ve got to say I’m pretty happy today because we did a lot of work again and we are quite a few steps ahead of what we did at Mugello and a lot of steps ahead of what we did at the test here a few weeks ago. I was a little worried coming here because we had so many problems at the test but today felt pretty good, the lap time is there and we are on the pace, so now we need to analyse the data and see where we can improve again tomorrow. We already have some ideas.”

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

Gran Premi de Catalunya – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – Free Practices

Petrux is in very good shape: 5th on the 1st day of the Catalan GP. Scott close to the Top 10 (12th)

After the memorable podium conquered five days ago in the Grand Prix of Italy, Danilo Petrucci confirms to be in excellent shape and ends up the first day of activity on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in fifth. Positive start also for Scott who finishes in the 12th place.

Following the FP1 affected by light rain, in the FP2 of the Grand Prix of Catalunya Danilo Petrucci first works on the tires in sight of the race and then laps very fast notching up a superb lap-time that places him in P5 only 51 milliseconds from the hypothetical first row.

Scott Redding experienced some problem of chattering that did not allow him to get the most out of time attack. But the English rider has seemed incisive on race pace since the morning. The lap-time of 1’45.375 allows him to finish very close to Valentino Rossi’s tenth place.

5th – Danilo Petrucci – 1’44.890

“A good start good because we made very few changes to the bike. This is not a track that should favor us but we started very well. Tire degradation will be a decisive factor. I was the only one to use the hard-rubber but after a few laps the rear-tire starts to drop. I will have to work hard on the power and my riding style to be fast even in the second half of the race. Being with the best, however, is always a satisfaction”.

12th – Scott Redding – 1’45.375

“To be honest is not a bad day but I’m still struggling with chattering. It’s the same issue that happened in qualifying at Mugello and tomorrow we’ll have to figure out how to fix it. This is the most important problem at the moment because the gap with the others in front is small and tomorrow in qualifying will be a battle for the Q2. We have worked hard to understand the choice of tires but for the moment we are doing a bit of effort”.

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

 LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow finished the opening day of the Catalan Grand Prix down the timesheets after suffering a fall during Friday’s second free practice session. Following a difficult weekend in Mugello last time out, the Briton is looking to bounce back in round seven of the MotoGP World Championship in Barcelona.

Things went to plan for Crutchlow during a damp morning session at the Circuit de Barcelona as he finished second in FP1, narrowly behind home favourite Marc Marquez. However, he was unable to build on that momentum in the afternoon with the track having dried out. As he prepared to try and produce a fast lap towards the end of FP2 he suffered a heavy fall from his RC213V which ensured he finished the opening day down in 20th position.

Fortunately, the 31-year-old walked away unharmed from the incident and remains positive that he can prove competitive during Saturday’s qualifying.

Cal Crutchlow – 20th

(1’46.201 – lap 3 of 14)

“I didn’t want other riders following me so I went slower and slower on the out lap which meant I didn’t have enough heat in my front tyre. We know the hard front tyre is fine here as we used it during the test, so there’s no problem with that. But it was a fast crash, when they slap like that it hurts and the shame was I think we have a very good pace here this weekend”

“I felt great in the earlier part of the session with the used tyres from this morning and then when I put the new one on that happened. Obviously we are quite a long way back at the moment, but I look forward to improving in the morning and think we can be competitive this weekend.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marquez tops standings on day 1 in Catalunya, good pace for Pedrosa

Marc Marquez led both free-practice sessions on the opening day of the Catalan Grand Prix. FP1 started in mixed conditions and the Repsol Honda riders waited for the track to dry off before getting into action in the final minutes and setting the first- and fourth-fastest times.

In the afternoon, Marc and Dani were able to exploit the completely dry track to start working on their RC213V setup for the modified layout of the Montmeló Circuit (with track length shortened from 4.655 km to 4.652 km). They both kept a good pace throughout the session, with Dani also running at the top of the classification before settling for seventh in the end, just around two-and-a-half tenths off a top-three position.

Marc Marquez 93

1ST 1’44.478

“Today I felt pretty good with the bike, as we already had a good base setup from the test we did here two weeks ago. In the afternoon we tried a few changes on the bike during our second run, but ultimately we preferred to go back to the setup from the test. We fit a new tyre and my last run was pretty good. We look forward to trying the hard Michelin rear tyre tomorrow, to understand what’s best for the race because it should be quite a bit warmer and therefore tough on tyres. We’ll try to keep the same level from today. The new track layout is different; the old one was more ‘natural,’ but ultimately it’s the same track and still enjoyable.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

7TH 1’45.098

“It was a bit strange today, as the track conditions were quite challenging compared to the test we did here some days ago, maybe because of this morning’s rain. We need to improve the feeling and the tyre life, as that will be a very important factor for the race. This is one of hardest tracks on the calendar from that point of view, so tomorrow our main target will be working on the setup to improve the consistency of the tyres and the lap times. Regarding the new chicane, we know that there’s a risk of a crashed bike ending up in the middle of the track, but we’ve already spoken about it in the last Safety Commission meeting in Mugello, so we’ll see. Anyway, at least it’s a very slow chicane, so this should make things less dangerous.” 

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

Positive start for Reale Avintia Racing riders in Barcelona

The first day of practice for the Catalunya Grand Prix has been positive for Reale Avintia Racing team riders, with Héctor Barberá in 11th and Loris Baz in 15th place. Both riders had a good feeling with the bike, they are confident about their chances to further improve tomorrow and the fact that both riders crashed in FP2 was only a small setback.

In the first session, Barberá and Baz remained in the garage, as the track was still wet and they preferred to save some tyres for tomorrow. The test that took place a few weeks ago was a great help and the riders started with a good base set-up, which resulted in a strong pace from the beginning. The crashes of Hector and Loris took place in the two revised points of the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya, with the Spanard falling in turn 10 and the French in the new chicane. Fortunately both incidents ended without major consequences and, although Barbera was diagnosed with a strong contusion to the tendon of the little finger of his left hand, he will come back stronger tomorrow, with the aim of making it to Q2.

Hector Barbera | 1’45.311 | P10

“We started the first day with ups and downs. This morning we didn’t go out because the track was not completely dry and in the afternoon I crashed and my left hand was trapped under the bike. One of my fingers got hurt and in the first moment I was scared because I could not move it and I had a lot of pain. Even though, I went back to the garage, grabbed my second bike and finished the session. Although I didn’t feel great, I was able to do three decent laps, so in the end, we finished the day on a high note. The most important thing is that I’m ok. The guys in the Clinica Mobile ruled out any fractures in my swollen finger, but it will be difficult to put on my glove tomorrow. The bike works very well on this track, we had a test a few weeks ago and we have the right set-up. I only need to choose the tyres well for Sunday and work to improve our race pace.”

Loris Baz | 1’45.755 | P15

“In the morning, the track was not completely dry and we decided not to go out in order to keep some tyres. In the afternoon, we went quite well. We went out with one bike that had the set-up base of Mugello and the other one with the set-up from the test, and I liked the one from Mugello more. We have to work more, but it still has been a positive start to this Grand Prix. We need a little more power and tomorrow we will use a new engine that can solve many problems. The lap times are very close together, but I trust in our capability of improving our lap times. In the new chicane I always cut across the kerbs, but when I crashed this afternoon I also entered with a lot of lean angle. It was a slow fall, but crashing at this point can still be really dangerous, especially in the group, because when you crash, you remain in the middle of the track.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA BEGIN ACTION IN BARCELONA

After a damp morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales continued their race day preparations in a sunny afternoon session. They set the 9th and 16th fastest time respectively in the combined timesheets.

Montmelò (Spain), 9th June 2017

Just five days after the race at the Mugello Circuit, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales were back on the asphalt today for the first free practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya.

Rossi was one of the few riders who took the risk of heading out on the damp track at the start of FP1. He completed a number of laps to get familiarised with the new layout at turn 14-15, until the circuit slowly started to dry. He went out on slicks later in the session just to get a feel for the changing conditions and posted a best time of 1‘48.863s for 17th place on his final attempt.

Temperatures rose to a balmy 26 degrees, as the Doctor returned to work in the afternoon. Completing a thorough set-up evaluation during his 17 laps of the Barcelona circuit, Rossi concluded the session in ninth position, both in the FP2 results and in the combined times, with a firm plan for tomorrow‘s opening practice.

The Catalan Grand Prix started with a waiting game for Viñales, who sat out most of the session as the track dried. Once the damp patches had disappeared, the home boy quickly stepped aboard his YZR-M1 and made his six laps in total count to secure sixth place, with a 1‘46.824s best lap.

The changing conditions as the day progressed saw the Spaniard needing a couple of stints before finding a good base setting in FP2 to work on throughout the remainder of the weekend. Though his afternoon outing was primarily spent on a search for grip, he set a 1‘45.810s lap towards the end of the session. As all riders had quickened their pace compared to this morning, Viñales took 16th position in today‘s timesheets.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

The damp conditions in this morning‘s free practice session were a little disappointing because we lost some valuable testing time, considering that we didn‘t come here to test two weeks ago, as opposed to our rivals. The last part of the track has been modified compared to last year, but it’s not safer nor does it increase the level of MotoGP action and in general the condition of the track has also degraded. Anyway, we weren‘t expecting to face the difficulties that we experienced in FP2 with Maverick, but we are confident that we will fix it for tomorrow. Overall, Valentino is quite satisfied with the set-up, apart from the agility of the bike, especially in the last session. Tonight we will work to find further solutions which we will put to the test in FP3.

VALENTINO ROSSI

For us it was a problem, because we didn‘t come here for the test. This means we need all the minutes of the practice sessions because we have a lot of work to do, but in the end the only real practice was this afternoon. Sincerely, this afternoon was nothing fantastic, but anyway my pace with the race tyre at the beginning was not so bad and we made some small modifications. There are a lot of riders with a good pace. At the end, whilst riding on the soft tyre, I thought I could do better, arrive in a better position and also improve the setting of the bike, but at the end I‘m just 10th*. I expected to do better, but it‘s also true that I‘m not far behind. It will be a very tight fight, especially tomorrow the main target is to try to stay inside the top 10, that will be very important. We need to work because we need to improve and after we need to try the tyres.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

This morning I was feeling OK, the bike was working good. We went out on soft tyres and the bike was behaving really well. We did three or four laps that were OK and I wasn‘t far from the top, but it wasn‘t the same in the afternoon and I don‘t know why. We usually have a very stable bike, but it wasn‘t working well. Every time I went on the track, on a new tyre or a used one, I was sliding a lot and couldn‘t do anything about it, it was something very strange, it‘s difficult to say anything about it. Concerning the new layout, you have to take the right line. The left-right is something all the tracks have, slow corners. For sure the 2016 version was a much nicer layout, but for the circuit it needs to be like this so it‘s better for everyone.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Good start to Catalan Grand Prix weekend for Ducati Team riders at the Montmeló circuit

The Ducati Team riders got off to a positive start at the Montmelò circuit on the outskirts of Barcelona, where Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix will be taking place. At the end of the first day of practice, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were in second and fourth place respectively.

Some slight rain in the morning meant that most of the first session was wasted, and it was only towards the end of FP1 that the riders were able to lap on slicks on a dry track. Andrea Dovizioso finished the session in third, while Jorge Lorenzo was in thirteenth.

In the afternoon the conditions improved considerably with blue skies, sun and temperatures rising to 26°C. During FP2 both Ducati riders made three exits from the box and they set their best times towards the end of the session, when they fitted soft tyres on their 2017 Desmosedici GP machines.

Lorenzo finished the day in second place, with a time of 1’44.700, while Dovizioso was not far behind in fourth with a lap of 1’44.883.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’44.700 (2nd)

“It’s still too early to draw some conclusions, but we started off well and managed to be fast with all the tyres we tried, both the hard at the start of the session and the soft at the end. It’s very difficult to understand the pace of the other riders, but in any case we still have to improve, especially in the third sector where the bike moves around much more than in the test and we’re still not able to be very fast.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’44.883 (4th)

“Even though we found the track in quite a bad state and with a lot of holes, the test a couple of weeks ago helped us to establish a good base and today we set some good times. I think that we have to work on consistency more than speed because the grip of the rear tyre drops very quickly and the pace that we’ll be able to keep after a few laps will be very important. In any case today we started well and tomorrow we’ll work to try and improve the feeling at the front.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Home heroes: Marquez and Lorenzo make their mark on Day 1

Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) topped FP1 at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, and the Spaniard kept his throne in the afternoon to go quickest in a dry FP2 and head the combined timesheets on Day 1. The man on the chase was compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), who shot up into P2 in the afternoon in a strong showing on his race debut at the venue for Ducati. Rookie Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) impressed to lock out the top three, and ended the day only 0.044 ahead of Mugello winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in fourth.

Bad weather in the morning saw rain ahead of track action leave the circuit in need of full wets, before FP1 was completed on slicks and the sun stayed out to give the field a fully dry FP2.

Behind the top four, Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) was another Italian keeping his momentum from his hometown heroics going, completing the fastest five on Friday ahead of Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in sixth.

Seventh was another home hero in the form of three-time World Champion Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), with Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) eighth quickest on combined timesheets and escaping unharmed from a slow crash in the final sector in FP2.

Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was P9 on Day 1 at the circuit on which he won last season – his most recent victory – as teammate and Championship leader Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ended Friday in sixteenth. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was another high profile name further down the timesheets, taking P19 after a crash in FP2.

Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) completed the top ten ahead of Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing), Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing) and Sam Lowes (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini).

FP3 decides the top ten initial graduates to Q2 on Saturday morning, before qualifying gets underway with Q1 from 14:10 (GMT +2) on Day 2.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

ANDREA IANNONE 12TH AFTER CATALUNYA FIRST DAY

Andrea Iannone: 12th – 1’45.465 / +1.170

Sylvain Guintoli: 22nd – 1’47.002 / +2.707

The first day at the Catalan GP brought difficult weather conditions in the morning, with a mixed situation on a wet track, but without rain. This prevented the riders from preparing for the start of the race. Sylvain Guintoli took to the track for two runs and Andrea Iannone just one, as the circuit was drying up a little towards the end of the session.

The afternoon saw improved conditions and a solid dry track. In these conditions Iannone was able to improve his lap time and stay consistently in the top ten. Only at the end of the session did he fall back to 12th place with a best time of 1’45.465.

Sylvain Guintoli did two runs in the morning in an effort to better check the tracks conditions and get more kms on this GSX-RR. In the afternoon he continued to improve, cutting more than 1.5s from his morning’s best. The 1’47.002 scored at the beginning of FP2 sets him in 22nd place today.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“This morning the weather affected the first session and we were only to lap for a very short time. It was in the afternoon that we could really test. Andrea’s pace is not bad, and we didn’t try the time attack because we had prioritised other things to test. Now that we have clearer ideas, we can also look forward to the classification. Tomorrow we will try the time attack in FP3 to try to enter directly into Q2, and hopefully get a good grid position. This is a difficult track with low grip, because of this, it was important to work on the pace and define a good overall setup. Sylvain continues to grow in his experience with us. He showed positive improvements today, and also worked on the pace, giving the engineers important information.”

Andrea Iannone

“This morning we had very difficult conditions; not really wet nor dry. In the afternoon we were able to ride in more consistent conditions. We did some work, but we still need some time to better finalize the electronics. The feeling with the settings was not bad; so this is a positive thing, and we can focus on getting better traction. The track is very different with the new circuit layout and the lines due to the recent modifications. It’s hard to find the best lines.”

Sylvain Guintoli

“We used this afternoon´s first session in dry conditions to test the new layout, and also the track which is different for me. It was a positive session; we worked on the bike with different setup configurations. We kept the same tyres, because the race pace is so important due to the stress put on the tyres at this circuit. I felt comfortable with this. What the ranking doesn’t tell you is that I think this was my best first day since I joined the team. I feel happy and I think we can make this a very positive weekend.”