More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Nakagami knocks it out the park on Friday
The Japanese rider heads Viñales on Day 1, with Crutchlow making it two Hondas in the top three in Teruel
Friday, 23 October 2020
Fresh from a new contract with HRC announced on Thursday, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) hit the ground running on Friday at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, nearly two tenths clear to end the day fastest ahead of Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) made it two Hondas in the top three as he took third overall, bouncing back from a technical issue in the morning, but Honda had also made it a 1-2 in FP1 with Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) dominating ahead of Nakagami as the Japanese marque most definitely shot first on Friday.
FP1
Alex Marquez opened his weekend with absolute domination in FP1, the rookie setting a time attack to pull over four tenths clear of 2021 teammate Nakagami on his tail. Marquez did crash late in the session – a carbon copy of his moment during the race last weekend but this time it proving enough to send him into the gravel – but rider ok and already well ahead of the field. Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) was fourth overall too to make more good reading for Honda, and lost out to third by just 0.010 to Championship leader Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar). Bradl also tried a new carbon-reinforced chassis on Friday.
Mir was 0.819 down but third, starting the weekend as the highest Championship challenger. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completed the top five, with Maverick Viñales the next of the top four in the title fight as he took sixth in FP1.
Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was the top Ducati in P7 although just over a second off Marquez, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) right behind him. Aleix’s younger brother Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the top Austrian machine a fitting 0.041 off the number 41, with Crutchlow completing the top ten by just 0.010 despite a technical problem at Turn 15. Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) was denied the top ten by only 0.004.
FP2
Morbidelli was fastest in the opening stages of the afternoon session as plenty of riders went immediately quicker than they did in the morning, the Italian leading from Zarco and Quartararo early doors. With ten minutes gone, ‘El Diablo’ and title rival Joan Mir played a bit of cat and mouse on track too.
Initially, the Suzuki rider was ahead and got the dashboard message of who was following him, keeping it pinned for another couple of sectors before rolling off and letting the Yamaha past. Mir then kept on Quartararo’s tail before, next time round after Turn 1, it was the Yamaha rider’s turn to roll off and let his rival through as they switched formation again. And remained close together on track…
Not long after that, Nakagami struck to take over from Morbidelli at the top, although the laptimes remained slower than Alex Marquez’ FP1 time. Next, Pol Espargaro shot up to P2 with 18 minutes to go to shuffle Morbidelli down further, but work still seemed focused on race setups for most. The classic Friday time attack was about to begin with 12 minutes to go, however, with those crucial top ten provisional places in Q2 up for grabs.
First Aleix Espargaro moved up into P3 before Championship leader Mir then became the first to depose Nakagami, a 1:41.182 seeing the Suzuki man go top of the pile with the fastest lap of the weekend. Teammate Alex Rins went P6 a few seconds after, before Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) shot into the top 10 in the session.
Mir was on another fast lap, but Nakagami then raised the bar. The Japanese rider set the first 1:47 of the weekend to go 0.251 clear of Mir and lay down quite a marker. Crutchlow and Bradl also moved into the top six as Lecuona shot to P3 with a great lap, but Nakagami was another two tenths under his time in Sector 3 next time around. A 1:47.782 saw him extend his lead even further, as Crutchlow made it an LCR Honda 1-2 moments later. Quartararo then moved up into the top three, and that was his final shot at the top.
Would anyone be able to ruin the Honda stranglehold? They would. After a red sector and then losing a little more time on a previous run at it, Viñales’ final lap of the day split the LCR Honda teammates as he slotted into second. The number 12 was only the second rider in the 1:47s, but still nearly two tenths off the top.
And so it’s Nakagami who ends the day on top on the combined timesheets, ahead of Viñales’ late lunge and Crutchlow’s P3. Quartararo was fourth overall on Friday, half a tenth off third, but he had even closer company from Mir right behind him once again, with the points leader ending the day in fifth overall and 0.018 off the Frenchman.
After finishing P1 on the FP1 timesheets, a mistake on a fast lap sees Alex Marquez drop to P6 on the combined standings by virtue of his fastest lap in the morning, that putting him only 0.002 off Mir overall. Aragon GP winner Rins ended Day 1 in P7, with Marquez splitting the Suzukis.
The quickest KTM was rookie Lecuona as the Spaniard goes from P15 to P8 on Day 1, ending Friday just ahead of the Espargaro brothers. The leader of those was Aleix Espargaro, the Aprilia man ninth overall, with Pol Espargaro holding onto the final provisional automatic Q2 spot in P10 – 0.013 off Aleix’s best.
It’s just 0.657 covering the leading 10 competitors, but the gaps don’t get any bigger. Bradl was 11th on Day 1 after another impressive performance, just 0.005 off the top ten, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Zarco, Binder and Morbidelli rounding out the fastest fifteen on Friday.
So where are the other Ducatis? It was a tough opener for the Borgo Panigale factory. Zarco was the quickest in P13, with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) in 17th, Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) 18th, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) 19th, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) – who also crashed – 20th and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) locking out the final places on the timesheets. They’ll be hoping for a lot more on Saturday morning as FP3 decides the final top ten automatic graduates to Q2.
Tune in for that at 10:55 local time (GMT+2), before qualifying will then decide the grid for the Teruel GP from 14:50.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Decent Friday for Lecuona and Oliveira in Aragón
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Iker Lecuona concluded the second practice Friday today at the MotorLand Aragón in eighth position, just 0.578 seconds off the top. The premier class rookie took it easy in FP1 to get used to the slightly warmer conditions than one week ago. Even the wind couldn’t stop him from stepping up his pace by 1.141 seconds in FP2 this afternoon, which saw him finishing day one of the Gran Premio de Teruel as the fastest KTM rider.
Likewise, Miguel Oliveira showed some great progress early on following a rather difficult first race weekend at the Spanish venue. Compared to FP1, the Portuguese went 0.915 seconds faster in Free Practice two, that made him nearly beating his Qualifying time from last Saturday. Oliveira ended up 12th overall, only 0.088 seconds behind the top 10, which he aims to reach tomorrow in FP3 at 10.55 local time.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 8th
Time: 1:48.360
Laps: 36
“I’m really satisfied with today. This morning, I was already quite quick, but I knew we need to change something on the bike, because in some places we felt already at the limit. This afternoon, I tried a new base, which felt a bit strange in the beginning, but I was already faster. On my fastest lap, I was alone and I worked a lot with this changed bike to improve and finally I finished eighth, very close to the top guys. I’m really happy. I hope we can continue like this tomorrow and try to make it to Q2.”
Miguel Oliveira
Position: 12th
Time: 1:48.527
Laps: 36
“Overall it was a good day of work here in Aragón today. We improved the bike. Already since this morning I felt a bit more competitive. Now in the afternoon, it was a bit difficult for me to do the lap time. At the end, we still have a couple of things to improve for tomorrow, but in general I feel a bit more competitive than last weekend here.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
PRODUCTIVE FRIDAY SEES VIÑALES IN SECOND PLACE IN TERUEL GP FREE PRACTICE STANDINGS
Alcañiz (Spain), 23rd October 2020
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales showed some serious Friday-form at the MotorLand Aragón track today. He finished the FP2 in second place and took the same position in the combined free practice standings.
2nd MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’47.957 (FP2) / 17 + 18 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales is a man with a plan at this weekend‘s Gran Premio de Teruel. He mostly focused on perfecting his YZR-M1‘s set-up again in FP2, but also displayed strong one-lap speed at the end of the 45-minute session. He was one of only two riders to dip under the 1‘48s-mark and earned second place in the combined FP rankings.
Having found some new set-up solutions in this morning‘s FP1, Viñales put in a good amount of laps this afternoon to confirm the positive findings on a tyre combination that he feels might be a solid option for Sunday‘s race. He followed up his first three race set-up dedicated runs with a time attack on his second bike in the final five minutes of FP2 to earn himself a place inside the top 10 of the combined free practice standings.
Top Gun was eager to see the one-lap potential of the YZR-M1 in preparation for tomorrow‘s qualifying. He confirmed the Yamaha‘s serious one-lap speed, clocking a 1‘47.957s on his 18th and final lap, to take second place, 0.175s from first.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
We used today‘s session mainly to work on perfecting last Sunday‘s race setting, using the data we collected as well as Maverick‘s post-race feedback. He felt a drop of the tyre after one third of the race distance. But apart from that, the area that he asked us to improve for this GP was the grip on the maximum lean angle. Both in FP1 and FP2 we continuously tried different solutions until he did a time attack at the end. The weather and track conditions today also allowed us to test the medium tyre option, which we couldn’t try last time, and we collected important information for the final tyre choice for Sunday’s race. In FP3 we will keep working on the direction we took today. If the rider is satisfied when the setting is finalised, we will also dedicate some time to working on race pace during FP4.
Of course, it remains a strange situation for our team to have only one rider this weekend. The good news is that Vale is feeling better. He doesn‘t have Covid-19 symptoms anymore and hopes that his test results this Monday will be negative so he can join us again for the races in Valencia.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
I think today was quite good, because I noticed an improvement. Actually, the track seemed to have less grip today compared to last week. That makes setting good lap times more difficult, but we did a good job anyway. We also need to take into consideration that we tried many things on the bike today, so that also made it hard to concentrate on getting a good rhythm. But riding consistent 1‘49s on medium tyres and with a full tank is positive. I only put in a time attack at the end of FP2, and it was good. When I did the time attack I was on my other bike, so it was difficult to do a good lap but, anyway, I‘m happy. We have reasons to be positive, because we found good things for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to concentrate on the rhythm, keep the good lines, do a perfect lap in qualifying, and see if we can improve the race pace a little bit in general. I know I can be really fast at the start of the race with the soft front, but we saw last week that we need to push more in the second half, so that‘s why I think the medium option will be better this Sunday.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez and Bradl immediately on the pace at the Teruel GP
The Repsol Honda Team enjoyed their strongest start of the year as action resumed in Aragon, Alex Marquez leading FP1 and holing a provisional Q2 time as Stefan Bradl attacked the top ten.
Last week’s bitingly cold conditions were nowhere to be seen as the MotoGP championship returned to the MotorLand Aragon circuit for Round 12 of the 2020 season. Times in FP1 were immediately faster than the previous Friday and would improve throughout the day.
Alex Marquez continued to go from strength to strength and topped Free Practice 1 after spending the entirety of the session in and among the top positions. The MotoGP rookie was one of just three riders in the first session to drop under the 1’49 barrier and ended quickest with a 1’48.184, despite a fall on his final flying lap. Alex’s pace continued in Free Practice 2, a series of consistent laps building towards Sunday’s race. Taking sixth overall, Alex has a provisional spot in Q2 and has already gone faster than his qualifying time from Q2 the previous week. The plan is to again work in Free Practice 3 to guarantee a Q2 spot.
Stefan Bradl’s work continued with HRC to assess a number of options for the Honda RC213V. The programme did not slow the German down as Bradl flew up to fourth position in FP1. Free Practice 2 produced another solid session for Bradl who spent much of it challenging for a top five spot. A 1’48.444 is already 0.7s faster than his Q1 time from the previous week and saw Bradl 11th overall, only 0.005s off a spot in the combined top ten times.
Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR Honda was the fastest rider of the day, teammate Cal Crutchlow 0.154s behind for third overall as the Honda RC213V riders showed their speed again in Aragon.
Action resumes in Aragon at 10:55 on Saturday, October 23, with Free Practice 3 – a final chance to decide who is in of Q1 and Q2.
Alex Marquez
6TH 1’48.184
“We’ve had a good first day here in Aragon, building from last weekend and continuing step by step. I had a small crash at the end of FP1 when I was pushing for a fast lap, but I am fine, and it was right at the end of the session. The time was looking good, but we were still able to stay in the top ten. The weather is better this week which is making things a little more straight forward, still some details to focus on for tomorrow but we have started well.”
Stefan Bradl
11TH 1’48.444
“I am feeling pretty good today, it’s a good boost to be further up in the time sheets. We are improving and we have had two good practices after making a good step and trying some new things. I hope to continue in this way for the rest of the weekend. There has not been a magic part that has changed, this is what we have been working on for a while with the setting of the bike. There’s a couple of things to try tomorrow as well, let’s see what it will bring.”
More, form a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:
CRUTCHLOW THIRD AS LCR TEAM SHINE IN ARAGON
23 October 2020 | Alcañiz GP Practice
Back at the MotorLand Aragon circuit for the second week running, Cal Crutchlow was again amongst the pacesetters as free practice for the Teruel Grand Prix got underway on Friday. The LCR Honda CASTROL rider demonstrated the pace that saw him qualify on the front row last weekend as he ended the day in third position.
In windy, cool conditions in the morning’s FP1 session, the Briton struggled to find his best form and finished in tenth spot. But things started to fall into place towards the end of FP2 and – with team-mate Takaaki Nakagami going fastest overall – Crutchlow ensured there were two LCR bikes in the top three places.
Cal Crutchlow – 3rd
(1’48.111)
“Today I didn’t feel fantastic on the bike with the settings from last week’s race. We also tried some other settings, but I think we were quite affected by the wind today and I didn’t feel 100% on the bike. We had a small technical issue in FP1 which cost us a couple of laps and in the afternoon I tried the hard rear tyre which I don’t think the track temperature was good enough to use, but we at least had to try. Then I was able to push a little bit in the second and third runs which was good enough to put me in the top three today. The team are working very, very well and also Honda are around, so I’m looking forward to qualifying day tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR MAKE TIP-TOP START IN TERUEL
Following a brilliant race in Aragon last weekend, which saw Alex Rins take victory and Joan Mir place third while taking over the title lead, Team Suzuki Ecstar are back on track at Motorland for the Teruel Grand Prix.
FP1 was sunny, bright, and much warmer than last weekend. This was ideal for the riders, who were able to work on race setup without needing the same caution as last time out when the track was very cold. Mir displayed impressively-consistent pace over the course of the session, and he completed 20 laps, setting his quickest – a 1.48.993 – on lap 18. Rins also put in a long run of 20 laps, favouring the soft-medium tyre combination, and similarly he had plenty of decent lap times.
In the afternoon both riders improved their times by a good margin, while simultaneously continuing to focus on settings and tyre options. They plugged away, keeping themselves close to the Top 10 before going for a final time attack. In the final few minutes of FP2 Mir topped the session with a 1’48.182 while Rins placed third with a 1’48.190. At the chequered flag they were fifth and seventh respectively on combined times, standing them in good stead for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Davide Brivio – Team Manager:
“It’s been positive today, the riders were putting in good laps and both of them are in the Top 10, which is especially good considering that the second week at the same circuit usually means everybody becomes more competitive. We worked a lot today in terms of geometry, settings, and tyres. So now we’ll analyse the data overnight and see if there’s anywhere we can improve compared to last weekend.”
Joan Mir:
“It was quite tough today because I did a lot of laps and tried a lot of different settings in order to work towards the race, but I’m really happy and feeling positive. I did a lot of laps with a used tyre today and I think that could pay off in the race. I didn’t set a really fast lap today but I feel really good with the bike and I’m looking forward to trying to get a good qualifying tomorrow.”
Alex Rins:
“Today went well. The track conditions are better this week and that makes everything a little easier. I focused on setup, to see where I can gain a bit more, especially on braking and grip levels. My last run with the soft tyre, which I prefer to the medium, felt pretty good. Tomorrow in FP3 I’ll try a few more things in order to prepare for qualifying and let’s see what we can do.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
THE SECOND WEEKEND AT ARAGÓN BEGINS WELL FOR APRILIA
The second consecutive weekend at MotorLand de Aragón started off solidly for Aprilia. Two tenths of a second faster than a week ago, Aleix confirmed his top-10 placing in the combined standings, despite a harmless crash during FP2.
Bradley Smith also improved by no less than 4 tenths compared to last week on his flying lap and even more noticeably in terms of pace and feeling.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“I found a good feeling straight away today – much better than seven days ago. We tried two different setups on the two bikes and we were able to find the right direction to get the RS-GP working well on this circuit. In the coming days it appear that the temperatures will continue to rise, so that could help us even more. The goal in FP3 tomorrow is to confirm the top 10, whereas in qualifying it would be important to start from the first two rows.”
BRADLEY SMITH
“I’m quite satisfied with our work today. We tried a few new things, including a rear shock, which gave us good feedback. I’m a bit disappointed about not being able to take full advantage of the new tyre. Unfortunately, in the final stages of FP2 I found myself behind some slower riders and that basically ruined my laps. With the medium, on the other hand, I found a good feeling – decidedly better than last week – and that is a good start.”
More, form a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:
TERRIFIC TAKA GOES QUICKEST ON DAY ONE IN ARAGON
23 October 2020 | Alcañiz GP Practice
Takaaki Nakagami celebrated news of his contract extension with HRC and the LCR Honda IDEMITSU team by going fastest on the opening day of free practice for the Teruel Grand Prix. The Japanese star has agreed a new multi-year deal and underlined his potential as he eclipsed the rest of the MotoGP class to post the outstanding lap at the MotorLand Aragon circuit on Friday.
Having finished fifth in last week’s race at the same venue, Nakagami was quickly back in the groove as he ended second in FP1 behind Honda colleague Alex Marquez. But he raised his performance level again in FP2, finding nearly a second of improvement to put his Honda at top of the timesheets and is now looking for a place on the front row in Saturday’s qualifying.
Takaaki Nakagami – 1st
(1’47.782)
“It was a good first day, I’m pretty happy with our race pace from FP1. Today was a little bit windy in FP1, but despite that we were really competitive and with the soft compound on the rear for a qualifying lap we did the best lap time. I’m riding pretty well and the bike is so good, so we’ll just try to repeat what we’re doing. Hopefully we can have another good day tomorrow and get a good result in qualifying which is so important for Sunday. Hopefully we can fight for the first or second row.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Teruel GP. Difficult first day of free practices for the Ducati Team as Petrucci and Dovizioso ended the day seventeenth and eighteenth respectively
Danilo Petrucci closed with the seventeenth time overall on Friday, as the lack of grip in the middle of the corner prevented him from improving;
Andrea Dovizioso couldn’t go beyond the eighteenth time overall on the first day of free practices of the Grand Prix of Teruel as some technical issues hindered him,
The Ducati Team riders were back in action today for the first day of free practices of the MotoGP Teruel Grand Prix, which will be held this weekend at the MotorLand Aragón in Alcañiz.
Taking advantage of the higher temperatures of the track compared to last Friday, Danilo Petrucci mainly focused on trying to find the right tyre choice ahead of Sunday’s race by trying different setup solutions on his bike. The rider from Terni closed the day with the seventeenth time overall in 1:48.870, and he is confident to be able to further improve tomorrow morning in FP3, where the main goal will be finding a spot within the top ten.
Andrea Dovizioso couldn’t complete his work programme as some technical issues, and the wind hindered him. After closing with the eighteenth time overall in 1:49.240 today, the rider from Forlì will try his time attack during tomorrow’s FP3.
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1:48.870 (17th)
“Compared to last Friday, today we managed to be more consistent, but unfortunately our rivals have also made progress compared to the past weekend. We have not yet identified which rubber is suitable for the race, and we are also having grip problems in the middle of the corner, which doesn’t allow us to be fast. Fortunately, we still have some ideas to try, and we hope they will allow us to enter the top 10 in FP3 tomorrow morning.”
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:49.240 (18th)
“It was a difficult day, and the wind didn’t help us. Unfortunately, we have had some problems which have not allowed us to complete the work programme that we had set ourselves for today. We hope to be able to find better conditions tomorrow morning and be able to ensure a good place in qualifying”.
Tomorrow at 10:55 AM local time (GMT +2.00), the Ducati Team riders will return to the track at MotorLand Aragón for the decisive session of FP3, before heading back on track again for the official qualifying of the Teruel Grand Prix starting at 2:50 PM, after FP4.
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
Fourth on Friday for Fabio at Gran Premio de Teruel
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli end Friday practice at MotorLand Aragón fourth and 15th
In action for the third consecutive weekend, and at MotorLand Aragón for the second time in a row, PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s MotoGP riders got to grips with the windy conditions at the circuit today. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli end day one of the Gran Premio de Teruel fourth and 15th respectively.
Quartararo opted to focus on gathering data during FP1, instead of setting a time attack lap, and stayed on the same tyres for the whole session. His best lap of 1min 49.621secs saw him end the 45 minutes 17th. The Frenchman also spent some of FP2 completing a long run, before setting a 1min 48.164secs lap in the closing stages of the session, ending both FP2 and the day fourth.
Team-mate Franco put in some fast laps in the early stages of FP1, but also chose not to set an all-out flying lap. He ended the session 5th with a best lap of 1min 49.100secs. Franco started FP2 strongly, immediately setting times that placed the Italian in the top-three, and was able to spend the session testing improvements made to the bike. At the end of the 45 minutes his best lap time of 1min 48.612secs lap saw him finish the session, and combined times, 15th.
The PETRONAS Yamaha SRT pairing will head out on track at 10.55am local time (4.55pm MYT) for FP3 tomorrow, with qualifying due to start at 2.50pm local time (8.50pm MYT).
Fabio Quartararo
4th (1’48.164)
We tried lots of things today, especially in the rear end of the bike; some things worked, while others didn’t. There are still some things we need to improve with the bike, and to improve our race pace, but it was a positive day overall and I think we are in a good position for tomorrow. It’s been good today to follow some other riders that were successful here last week, as you can always learn something from them, and I can see where I was losing time to them. I think there are three corners that we are weaker in but I know what I need to work on and how to improve. I still have a bit of a bruise on my leg, but it isn’t bothering me and physically I’m fine.
Franco Morbidelli
15th (1’48.612)
Today I felt quite good and we were able to work on the bike a little bit, able to improve the feeling slightly. We improved how the bike handles mid-corner and I was able to feel the difference immediately. I’m happy about that, although the final position from today is not great. We know we need to find a little bit of speed to help us in FP3 and qualifying. The morning conditions were quite good and tomorrow it is supposed to be even better, so I’m confident of completing a lap to go straight to Q2. So, tomorrow the aim will be to try to get into the top-ten and improve the bike further, in particular under braking. We will see what happens.
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Alcaniz GP – Good feeling for Jack and Pecco after the first day of free practice
First day of free practice at MotorLand Aragon. Jack and Pecco today finished respectively in eighteenth and twentieth position in the combined standings. Jack Miller finished a convincing first free practice session in seventh place with the best time of 1:49.211. During the FP2 his best lap was cancelled for having passed with yellow flags but this aspect does not change the team’s plans. Pecco Bagnaia after a very difficult FP1 regains feeling and confidence, as his teammate decides not to use new tires and takes a second practice session working on set up and race pace. A crash in turn 1 on the last lap fortunately without consequences puts the point to the first day on track.
Pecco Bagnaia
This afternoon we made some change and I really enjoyed. I think we took a big step forward from the morning session to the afternoon session. I have a better feeling than last week but we still need to improve but I have good feelings.
Jack Miller
The bike has worked well and we have taken a step forward compared to last week, I am very confident, we will continue to work hard in anticipation of Sunday’s race. Today the strong wind has bothered me a bit, especially in turns 1 and 2.
More, from a press release issued by Avintia Esponsorama Racing:
ESPONSORAMA RACING COMPLETES A FIRST POSITIVE DAY AT THE MOTORLAND CIRCUIT OF ARAGÓN
Johann Zarco finished in thirteenth position less than one tenth of the top10 while Tito Rabat finished twenty-first on the first day of free practice for the Teruel Grand Prix.
In the first training session, Johann Zarco set a time of 1’49.360, finishing in eleventh position just over a second behind the first classified. Tito Rabat for his part finished in twentieth place with a best time of 1’50.215.
In the afternoon, both Esponsorama Racing riders improved their best times of the morning. Johann Zarco despite improving by eight tenths his record had to settle for thirteenth position, less than one tenth of the top10. Tito Rabat improved his best time by half a second, managing to stop the timer at 1’49.733.
Tomorrow from 10:55 the last free practice and qualifying sessions for the Teruel Grand Prix will take place.
JOHANN ZARCO – P13
“A bit disappointed with today because I am not in the top 10 and the ducatis are not as strong as we expected. I think we could have gone a bit faster with the new tire but I didn’t know how to get the most out of it. Today we have done a very good job, and we hope that tomorrow we can improve and get to Q2″
TITO RABAT – P21
“It has been a difficult day in which things have not turned out quite as we expected. Today we have focused more on working towards the race and tomorrow we will look for a fast lap “
