Gran Premio Red Bull de Espana

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

May 4, 2018

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.614

2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:38.642

3. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 1:38.705

4. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 1:38.709

5. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.863

6. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.068

7. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.076

8. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:39.102

9. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:39.248

10. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:39.514

11. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:39.541

12. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:39.541

13. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:39.575

14. Mika Kallio, Finland (KTM), 1:39.661

15. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:39.694

16. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.723

17. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.888

18. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 1:39.948

19. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), 1:39.951

20. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.969

21. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:40.003

22. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 1:40.241

23. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), 1:40.488

24. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 1:40.536

25. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 1:40.663

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

Zarco kicks off European season inside the top 3 – Syahrin is catching up

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Racingteam is back on European soil this weekend for the Spanish Grand Prix, where Johann Zarcoopened up the competition in a very strong way. Following a solid morning session, he improved by nearly one second in FP2 to conclude Friday as the best Yamaha rider in a fabulous third position, just 0.091 seconds behind the top.

Meanwhile, Hafizh Syahringrit his teeth on the opening day at Jerez de la Frontera, after he crashed while cycling on Monday and initiated his fourth ever MotoGP weekend with some bruises. However, the Malaysian rookie lowered his lap time from the first to the second Free Practice by 1.586 seconds and is eager to further improve when the action continues at 9.55 local time with FP3 on Saturday.

Johann Zarco

Position: 3rd- Time: 1’38.705 – Laps: 36

“I’m pretty happy to be competitive without a test here. FP1 was quite ok and in FP2 we were working with the tyres. MY feeling was quite good and every time we tried something on the bike, we were improving, which makes me truly happy. Now we want to keep working that good to feel even more comfortable and play with the bike. I hope, that we’ll have good weather tomorrow, so we can improve and prepare the race as well as possible.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 24th- Time: 1’40.488 – Laps: 32

“I feel very good with the bike, but my condition is not at 100 percent, because I still feel the pain on the left side of my upper leg, so I try to gain confidence on the M1 with this and also try to find a good position on it, as it disturbs me a little bit while controlling the power of the machine. Anyway, my sensations on the bike are very good, for the moment it’s only me, I need to be more prepared and try to rest a bit now in order to be able to give my best tomorrow again.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

AFTER A GOOD FP1, ESPARGARÓ AND REDDING FIND THEMSELVES GRAPPLING WITH GRIP PROBLEMS IN THE SECOND FREE PRACTICE SESSION

THE ASSAULT ON Q2 POSTPONED UNTIL SATURDAY

The first free practice session on Friday for the GP of Spain in Jerez smiled on the Aprilia machines which placed in the top ten with Scott Redding (tenth time at 1’39.585) and just outside the top ten with Aleix Espargaró, thirteenth with a time of 1’39.899 after an entire session ridden on medium tyres. Things went differently in the afternoon FP2 session, where both of the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders had to reckon with a lack of grip and traction problems. This situation kept them way out of the top ten, and therefore the spots that would have sent them straight through to Q2 tomorrow. Scott finished in fifteenth place in the combined rankings, whereas Aleix slid down to nineteenth place, both among the few who did not improve after the first session.

This postpones the assault on the top positions until Saturday – spots that seemed to be within reach for the RS-GP at the start of the weekend.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“In FP1 I felt very good. I was one of the few who did not change tyres for the entire session, still managing to maintain a good pace. During FP2, something in the traction control settings wasn’t working. I even risked crashing and that compromised the session. We still need to analyse the problem well, but we will most likely make some changes to the electronics, whereas in terms of setup, I am rather happy with the RS-GP on this track. The new asphalt is much better. There is more grip practically everywhere.”

SCOTT REDDING

“This morning we started well, but unfortunately in FP2 we had some small problems with the bike that kept us from improving as we would have liked. We are lacking some information on the various available tyres because we didn’t use the full session. I was one of the few who felt good straight away with the soft front tyre and that’s strange. Tomorrow we will need to work on this aspect to confirm the information we collected today.”

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

Productive day for Morbidelli and Lüthi in Jerez

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders and Franco Morbidelli and Tom Lüthi spent a productive day of free practice in preparation for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The MotoGP rookies evaluated various set-up and tyre options aboard their Honda RC213V machines on the newly resurfaced 4.423km Jerez layout.

The data collected will form the basis of their assault on the 25-lap race, which is round four of the MotoGP World Championship.

Both riders set their fastest times in this afternoon’s second free practice session in sunny but slightly windy conditions.

Morbidelli improved by 0.7s over his FP1 time while Lüthi went 0.3s faster compared to his best time in the morning session. It has been valuable track time for Lüthi who missed last November’s test session at Jerez because of injury.

Franco Morbidelli: 21st- 1’39.951

“I am happy with the work we did today especially with the lap time improvement, this is positive for the race. I think we have a very good potential to be even stronger tomorrow. There was a little more wind in the afternoon session but we are working calmly towards refining the options for the race.”

Tom Lüthi: 23rd – 1’40.241

“This track feels quite small on a MotoGP bike, the corners come very fast and there is no time to rest. But it is a nice track and the new surface, which I am riding for the first time, is smooth and grippy. There are also many hard acceleration corners here, which cause a lot of wheelies. As the temperature went up in the afternoon the track felt different so this was useful data as we work for our race set-up.”

Diego Gubellini: Franco Morbidelli Crew Chief

“The track conditions were much warmer today compared to the test here in November so we got a lot of useful data. In the afternoon session we found some solutions to improve rear-end stability on acceleration which was an issue in the morning session. We still need to work on improving turning and grip and that will be our focus tomorrow but we are not so far from an ideal set-up.”

More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team:

ABRAHAM JUST TWO TENTHS OFF THE TOP TEN AT CIRCUITO DE JEREZ – ÁNGEL NIETO

Ángel Nieto Team’s Czech rider finishes in 12+1 position, with team-mate Álvaro Bautista 22nd

The MotoGP World Championship officially returned to Europe today with Cal Crutchlow setting the pace on the opening day of free practice at Jerez. The British rider headed up a tight field, with up to four riders within the same tenth of a second: Dani Pedrosa was just 0.028 seconds back, whilst Johann Zarco and Andrea Iannone trailed Crutchlow by just 0.090 seconds. Series leader Andrea Dovizioso ended the day sixth fastest, just behind his main rival Marc Márquez.

The first day of the Spanish Grand Prix for the Ángel Nieto Team saw Karel Abraham lap just shy of the top ten positions. The Czech rider finished two tenths off the current Q2 benchmark after establishing a good feeling with his Ducati and posting some strong lap times. His team-mate Álvaro Bautista was not quite as comfortable on the opening day at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, although he is taking the positives after spending the entire morning session on the same set of soft tyres and setting his best lap at the end.

12+1 Karel Abraham 1:39.541 (37 laps): “It was a very good day today, I really enjoyed riding the track here in Jerez. The conditions were also good, even though we were expecting some rain, so FP1 went well and also FP2. The only thing in the afternoon was we tried some tyres that I didn’t like, which made it slippery and the bike didn’t push, but we changed them and I was able to push hard again. On the last lap I was a little lucky to get on the back of Zarco and I was able to follow him quite well, so I was happy to be able to improve my lap time, which put me in P12. It is very rewarding because it has been hard and it’s nice to be there.

22nd Álvaro Bautista 1:39.969 (36 laps): “The feeling this morning was good, we did the whole session on the same soft tyres and my best time came after twenty laps. This afternoon, on the medium compound, I didn’t feel very comfortable. When we put the soft tyres back in the bike stopped and I needed a couple more laps to be able to push hard. There is not a big gap in terms of the lap time, even though our final position is some way back.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Gran Premio Red Bull de España

MotoGP 2018 Round 4

Positive start to Spanish GP for Pedrosa, in second. Marquez a close fifth

Dani Pedrosa set the second fastest time at the end of a sunny opening day of the Spanish Grand Prix, just 28 thousandths of a second off provisional pole-setter and fellow HRC rider Cal Crutchlow. Dani greatly improved his speed and pace from the morning FP1 session, which he had finished in 14th position.

After setting the second fastest time in the morning, on used tyres, reigning World Champion Marc Marquez wrapped up the day in fifth place, just over two tenths from the top. A small slip-off at turn 6 in the final stages of the afternoon session did not prevent him from completing a good day of work on his race pace.

Fair weather conditions are also expected tomorrow, when the FP3 session will start at 9:55 a.m. local time.

Dani Pedrosa 26

2ND 1’38.642

“This morning I started a bit slowly to test the condition of my hand, and from there I went, step by step, improving over the day, especially in the second session, when I was able to push a bit more. The positive aspect is that I felt better than at the last race, though I’m not yet 100% fit. I have more range of motion, and that allows me to move on the bike better in order to adopt a better position in the corners. What I still lack is full strength, and that still causes me to struggle and prevents me from riding exactly as I wish. Anyway, we did a good FP2 session and we know where we can improve further. I hope we’ll be able to do that tomorrow.”

Marc Marquez 93

5TH 1’38.863

“I’m generally happy with my first day here at Jerez because I think we did good work. We did a lot of laps on used tyres, and that’s important in view of the race. I had a small crash in the end with a front tyre that already had 27 laps on it, but it was mainly my mistake because I just braked too late into the corner. It seems that the Hondas are strong here, especially Dani, so we’ll see if we can get closer. It will be interesting to see how the tyres react to the higher temperature that’s expected tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep a good pace and continue our direction of work, which I think is the correct one. This track is usually a bit challenging for me, but this year I feel good on the bike and am ready to fight for the podium and even the victory.”

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

 Gran Premio Red Bull de España – Free Practices

#SpanishGP FP. Solid P8 for Jack. Petrux is in great shape but a technical issue stops his time attack

The first European weekend of the 2018 MotoGP season starts with very positive indications for the two Alma Pramac Racing riders. Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller are incisive from the morning’s Fp1 (4th and 5th time respectively). In the FP2s, Jack took eighth place, while Petrux was forced to quit his time attack due to a technical issue.

Jack Miller was immediately at ease with the Ducati Desmosedici Gp 2017 and from the first run of the FP1 he proved to be fast especially in the third sector where he recorded the second best time just 5 thousandths of a second from Marquez. After finishing 5th in the morning practice, the Australian returned to the track in the afternoon with confidence and finished in P8 36 thousandths of a second from the first Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso.

A technical issue in the FP2’s time attack did not allow Danilo Petrucci to take advantage of the soft tyres. The rider from Terni, however, appeared in great shape on the Circuit of Jerez as in FP1 he notched up the best time in the second sector and the third in the T4. The FP2’s race pace was also very good as Petrux lapped consistently in the Top 5.

P16 Danilo Petrucci – 1’39.723

“It’s a shame. I was very fast in both the FP1 and FP2 and was convinced I could do a good lap-time. Unfortunately I had to return to the garage because of a technical issue after putting on the soft tyres. However, I am very confident. The pace is good and tomorrow I feel I have great confidence to conquer the direct qualification to Q2”.

P8 Jack Miller – 1’39.102

“It’s a very good day and I’m satisfied. I’m also happy to be back riding without pain after the injury that gave me some problems in Austin. The feeling with the bike is really good. In both the FP1 and FP2 I was easily in the Top 10 and this gives us great confidence in sight of tomorrow’s qualifying. It will be a battle anyway so we will have to improve”.

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

Rabat and Simeon start to work in Jerez

04/05/18 MotoGP GP of Spain – Circuito Angel Nieto

Tito Rabat and Xavier Simeon started their preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix at the renamed Angel Nieto Circuit of Jerez today, with the first two free practice sessions in the MotoGP category. The Jerez weekend is the first home Grand Prix for Reale Avintia Racing, and the first European round of the Championship.

After his great start of the season, Tito Rabat arrived at Jerez highly motivated. Even though it didn’t reflect in the time sheets, he had a positive first day, working very efficiently towards the race on Sunday. He already knows which tyre combination to use and he is also sure about the set-up of his Ducati, so he can concentrate now on improving his lap times in qualifying and battling for a good position on the starting grid.

Teammate Xavi Simeon also had a good day. The MotoGP rookie had very good feelings with the bike from his first exit and his race pace was strong. He was not able to get the maximum from the soft rear Michelin tyre, but he is still confident for Saturday and hopes to improve his grid position for the race.

Tito Rabat | 1’39.888 | P18

“It was a difficult day, but a positive one nevertheless. We tried all the tyre options available and also different settings on the bike. It was clear that the track conditions were completely different in comparison to when we tested here at the end of last year, so knew in advance that it was going to be difficult, but we are not too far away. Let’s see if I can improve my lap times in FP3 and then make another step in qualifying, so I can start the race in a good position. I’m quite confident for the race as we know which tyre to use. The feeling with the bike is very different from the test in November, but it’s the same for everybody.”

Xavier Simeon | 1’40.663 | P25

“Today the feeling was much better than in Austin. We had a good pace from the beginning. I finished last, but not so far from the riders in the top ten, which shows that we did improve. At the end I was not able to get the maximum out of the soft tyre, it felt as if I had too much grip and I was not able to get the bike to slide. I didn’t get the best out of the tyre, but the fact that my feeling with the bike was good is more important. I feel better and I can push harder. Tomorrow we will try to do a good FP3 and get close to the top 15 in qualifying.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Crutchlow and Pedrosa on top – with 15 riders in a second on Friday

It’s tight at Jerez on Day 1, including a crash for Marquez, Independent Teams flying high and another stunning performance from recovering Pedrosa

Independent Team rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) rules the roost in the Gran Premio Red Bull de España as actions ends on Friday, with the Argentina GP winner taking to the top in FP2 and leader on the combined timesheets. What does that mean? On a Friday as close as this, it means he was 0.028 clear of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in P2, 0.091 ahead of Johann Zarco ( Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and still not even a tenth in front of Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in fourth.

As well as the incredible equality of the top four within a tenth, the top 15 ended Day 1 within a second and the whole grid was covered by two seconds – a tantalizing prospect for race day if it remains the same.

The headlines didn’t stop there. 2017 Jerez winner Pedrosa, who is still recovering from a broken wrist, put in a stunning performance once again to not only threaten the top but also show some key consistency – with Zarco just behind him and top Yamaha. Iannone kept his solid form rolling after his rostrum finish in Texas, just ahead of what was another key moment of the day: reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), despite having shown awesome pace throughout both sessions, crashing out towards the end of FP2 – rider ok.

The man right behind Marquez after Day 1 was Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who went fastest in FP1, with his teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking seventh on Friday at the track at which he took his first podium in red in 2017. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was the top Independent Team Ducati rider in P8 overall after more solid top ten pace, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) taking ninth overall after a late move up from outside provisional Q2 entry.

The man completing the top ten was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), after the Spaniard put in an incredible charge in FP1 to end that session in third and the day in tenth overall.

Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was P12 and will have his sights set significantly further up the timesheets on Saturday, as will Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who was P14 but missed the Spanish GP in 2017 due to injury, turning a wheel in anger at the venue for the first time this year. Wildcard Mika Kallio, riding a first version of the 2019 machine for Red Bull KTM Factory racing, was P16 on Day 1.

Everything’s open, everything’s close and everything’s set up for a Saturday to remember. Make sure to watch as battle commences to decide the grid from 14:10 (GMT +2) on Day 2.

Marquez takes charge on Day 1

The Spaniard leads Baldassarri, Bagnaia and Lowes on home turf, as the top 17 are covered by a second

2017 Jerez winner Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) marched to the top of the Moto2™ timesheets on the opening day at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, with his 1:42.537 almost three tenths clear of second place man Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40). Championship leader Franceso Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) failed to improve his time in FP2 after going fastest in the morning, and he ended the day P3 on the combined timesheets.

Former Jerez winner Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors), one of the quickest men at the preseason test at the venue, was fourth overall on the timesheets – his time of 1:42.836 was the exact same time Bagnaia recorded in FP1. Romano Fenati (Marinelli Snipers Team) impressed again in FP2 after going third quickest in FP1, finishing fifth on the combined practice times and taking the honour of top Rookie on the opening day.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), winner here in the Moto3™ class in 2016 from the back of the grid, made a strong start to the weekend in sixth, with reigning Moto3™ Champion Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) just behind him in P7. Argentina GP winner Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) didn’t finish FP2 after a technical problem on the back straight forced him to pull off track. However, the Italian had already improved his time from FP1 by over three tenths, ending the day in eighth – 0.571 off Marquez’ time.

Rounding out the top ten on Friday was Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo), , with Iker Lecuona (Swiss Innovative Investors) in tenth – both of whom failed to go quicker in FP2 and their fastest efforts set in the morning

Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) was an early faller in FP2, rider ok, but there was more drama as Bagnaia then clashed with Isaac Viñales (SAG Team) at the final corner at the end of the session, with both riders pushing for a quick time at the end of the day.

The intermediate class bikes will be back on track for FP3 on Saturday, 10:55 local time (GMT +2).

Antonelli sets incredible pace on the opening day

The Italian leads Martin and Di Giannantonio on the combined Free Practice timesheets

Niccolò Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) set a blistering pace on Friday afternoon at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, improving his time by two seconds from FP1 to be the only rider to venture into the 1.46’s and go fastest overall. Championship leader Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) was his closest challenger, however he could only get within 0.444 seconds of the Italian. Martin’s teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio rounded out the top three – the only rider in the top 12 to not improve his FP1 time.

Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) was third in the afternoon session, his 1:47.165 was enough to put him fourth on the overall times – 0.006 behind Di Giannantonio. Last year’s Jerez race winner Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) improved on his FP1 time right at the end of his final FP2 run, ending the day P5 and 0.594 off Antonelli’s pace. Honda Team Asia rider Kaito Toba improved his time by nearly a second from FP1 to impress in P6.

Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) has found some form in Jerez so far this weekend, building on his solid FP1 display to finish seventh overall, with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) in eighth. Tony Arbonlino (Marinelli Snipers Team), who led FP2 in the early stages of the session, was 0.009 seconds back from Dalla Porta in ninth, with John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) improving by over a second in the afternoon to end Friday in P10 on board his KTM machine.

Top rookie was Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider), as the reigning Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion took P15.

Antonelli looks like an early candidate for pole position, can the chasing pack close the gap in FP3? Find out when the Moto3™ riders head back out on Saturday, 09:00 local time (GMT +2).

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA SEARCH FOR PACE IN FIRST JEREZ PRACTICE SESSIONS

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales got off to a modest start at the Gran Premio de España, held at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto. The teammates started the weekend focusing on their race set-up and finished in 9th and 12th place respectively in the combined standings.

GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain – 4th May 2018

FREE PRACTICE

14:05 LOCAL TIME GMT+2AIR 21°C / TRACK 34°CSUNNY / HUMIDITY 66%

9th

VALENTINO ROSSI

1’39.248 / 19 LAPS

12th

MAVERICK VIÑALES

1’39.514 / 19 LAPS

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 4th May 2018

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales made their first kilometres on European soil of the 2018 MotoGP season during today’s free practice sessions. The pair used their time on track to prepare for Sunday’s Gran Premio de España and ended the day in 9th and 12th place in the combined free practice results.

This morning, Rossi needed little time to get reacquainted with the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto. He positioned himself inside the top-3 during his opening laps, before shifting his attention to the balance of his YZR-M1. Making strides with his bike‘s settings, he took over at the top of the results with six minutes left on the clock, but ended the session in sixth position with a 1‘39.488s, 0.220s from first.

The Doctor continued tweaking his bike‘s settings in the afternoon and was pushing hard until a wobble at turn 1 gave him a first warning, right before his usual last 10-minutes mini time-attack. Yet, the Italian still managed to make another step forward, improving his time to a 1‘39.248s. He ultimately ended the day in ninth place in both the FP2 and combined free practice results, 0.634s from the top.

Viñales didn’t warm to the Spanish track immediately in the morning session. He struggled to find the same feeling he had in Austin, Texas, but remained determined to put on a good show for the fans. He completed 16 laps in total and got a good impression of where he stands in terms of race pace, before putting in a last-minute hot lap to finish in ninth place, 0.291s from the front.

The local hero used the afternoon session to look for a setting solution. He was able to improve his time to a 1‘39.514s, for tenth place in the FP2 session rankings. However, as some rivals had posted quicker times in the morning, the number-25 rider ended the day in 12th place in the combined session times, with a 0.900s-margin to first.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

We knew that we would have a bit of catching up to do on the first day of riding in Jerez, because we didn’t attend the test here earlier this year, but we expected to be doing better by this stage. Both our riders gave positive feedback about the new asphalt – its surface is better, but grip-wise it wasn’t as good. As in the past, the lap times change quite drastically depending on the temperatures. We used both sessions to collect as much information as possible, trying various set-ups and tyre specifications. Ultimately, when we put on the soft tyre to do the time-attack, our expectations were not met. We have to improve the speed and the pace – the latter is the most important for the race. We only have two sessions to do it, but I’m confident that our engineers will come up with a good solution.

VALENTINO ROSSI

It was a difficult day, especially in the afternoon, because in the morning I wasn‘t so bad, with the lower temperatures, but unfortunately with the higher temperatures we suffered. I‘m not happy with the balance of the bike, we need to improve, but we‘re also in trouble with the tyres. After some laps we lose grip and it looks like we have to slow down more than our opponents, so I think that will be difficult, but it‘s only Friday. We need to work and improve and we will try to better our understanding tomorrow.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

Honestly, today I didn’t have the best feeling. I wasn’t feeling well during FP1 and FP2, it was difficult. In Austin we improved quite a lot, but since coming here the problems started again. The bike is moving around a lot, so we have to keep working and stay focused and we have to push – that’s the only way forward. Vale seems to be having the same problems, our lap times are quite similar. We have to find a solution that works for us.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Andrea Dovizioso sixth and Jorge Lorenzo seventh on first day of Spanish GP practice at Jerez de la Frontera

Both Ducati Team riders finished inside the top 10 on the first day of free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, the fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship which will be held this weekend at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Andalusia.

Andrea Dovizioso, who topped the timesheets in the morning’s FP1 session, further improved his time in the afternoon to finish the day in sixth place with a lap of 1’39.068, followed by his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was just a fraction behind in seventh place with a time of 1’39.076.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 6th – 1’39.068

“It was a positive first day, one in which we confirmed the results of the test here in November and, even though the temperature was different today, I was able to establish a good feeling with my Desmosedici GP. This afternoon we tried some other things but we couldn’t improve and when I put the new tyre on I didn’t feel quite right on the second bike. All in all however we have started off with a good base, even though it’s still not enough and so tomorrow we will have to improve.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 7th – 1’39.076

“Today we did a lot of tests and we found some good solutions. Some of the updates we have brought here to Jerez have been positive, but there are some corners where I’m still really struggling to get the bike to turn and I’m losing a few tenths. I’m not completely satisfied because I wanted to finish the day inside the top 5, but on my good lap I had a small problem with the gearbox and I wasn’t able to get my time down. Today it didn’t rain in the end and I hope that the weather stays good tomorrow so we can continue to work like today, because I think we have a lot of room for improvement.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Castrol Honda:

IMPRESSIVE CRUTCHLOW GOES FASTEST IN JEREZ

LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow again demonstrated his exceptional pace this season as he topped the timesheets on day one of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. The Briton is amongst the early pacesetters in the MotoGP championship standings following his victory in Argentina and served notice that he is ready to challenge again this weekend as he produced Friday’s fastest lap.

Crutchlow went eighth quickest in the FP1 session, but the LCR man shaved almost a second of his morning time to end the opening day on top of the pile – just ahead of HRC factory colleague Dani Pedrosa. While admitting there is still much hard work ahead tomorrow, Crutchlow is now targeting a place on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

Cal Crutchlow – 1st

(1’38.614 – lap 18 of 20)

“Yeah, the bike feels good at the minute. The track is different to when I tested here in November, it was cold and very, very grippy then, now it’s quite greasy. I seem to be able to do the lap times quite well, the tyres are holding up well – the soft and medium anyway, on the rear – which we’ll use tomorrow. But we also need to try the hard as I think that will be the race tyre. But yeah, we’re confident enough with the bike, it’s going well.

“We went through some different settings, it didn’t feel great with the wings on the bike which I tried for the first time this year. It was quite windy out there and it was not reacting very well to that and we’ve had no time on the wings so the set up wasn’t great. But I feel good, it’s nice to be on top again. Now we have to work with the team tonight and then go into tomorrow with positivity and hopefully get on the front row.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

STRONG START FOR SUZUKI IN SUNNY SPAIN – UPDATED

Andrea Iannone: 4th – 1:38.709 (+ 0.095)

Alex Rins: 13th – 1:39.575 (+ 0.961)

• Iannone fast with a very good feeling with the GSX-RR.

•Alex Rins working on the pace to prepare the race.

The first day in Southern Spain’s newly named Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto saw sunny skies and plenty of improvements for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders. The tight and technical circuit was predicted to be a challenge for the GSX-RR’s characteristics, but early signs show that Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins are able to overcome and adapt.

The morning’s FP1 session was used for getting the feel of the resurfaced track, but Andrea Iannone was able to start the session well and maintain lap times around the Top 10, even on a used tyre. For Alex Rins it was a more difficult start to proceedings as he familiarised himself with the circuit and the feel of a MotoGP bike here – the Spaniard missed the Jerez race last year due to his arm injury.

Any clouds moved away in time for the afternoon’s FP2 session and Iannone and Rins used this vital session to build on their morning progress. Both riders began FP2 with the medium-medium tyre combination and by the session mid-point the pair were hovering around the Top 5. Alex Rins continued to find improvements throughout the session and Andrea Iannone, using a soft-medium combo for the closing moments, was able to set a series of quick laps. The Italian finished the session just 0.095 seconds behind the fastest time, and 0.004 behind 3rd overall. Both Iannone and Rins improved by around 1 second on their morning times, and the pair registered second and third in sector 2.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“It was a good day, especially for Andrea, who was fast in both sessions and had a very good pace this morning with a used tyre. This afternoon he confirmed his pace again with good laps and a good session, so he seems to be quite happy about the feeling with the bike. So we just have to check what we can improve tomorrow and continue like this. Alex struggled a little bit more, but this morning he did a lot of work in terms of thinking about the race and trying to find the feeling. It seems we have room for improvement and tomorrow we’ll look for something extra.”

Andrea Iannone

“I’m really happy about today, we worked really well and things are going in a good way. The feeling with the bike is not bad, and between this morning and this afternoon we improved a bit more, which is interesting for us. I didn’t expect this speed on this track because last year we struggled a lot, but in any case today we are very close to the top, and this is the most important thing. We confirmed that we are close, and tomorrow is the most important day because of the qualifying – it’s important that we start from the front or second row, this will be key for the race. On the slow corners we struggle, but on the fast corners we can take the advantage, so it’s a compromise.”

Alex Rins

“We did a good job today, the target was to try to find the set-up of the bike rather than to push for a good position. This morning we focused a bit on the tyres, and this afternoon we tried the medium tyre and tried to get a good set-up and analysis of the bike for the race day. Things are working well, we had a test here in November with the team and it was my first contact with Jerez on the MotoGP bike. We need to adjust a few things and try to find improvements on the slow corners.”