FIRST DAY OF MOTOGP PRACTICE AT BRNO
A CRASH DISRUPTS ALEIX ESPARGARÓ’S PLANS, FAST ON USED TYRES
SETUP NEEDS IMPROVEMENTS FOR ANDREA IANNONE
Despite some threatening clouds, the first to practice sessions on the Brno circuit were held on dry asphalt. The combined standings show no less than eighteen riders within a second and a half, a gap that, on more than 5.4 kilometres of track, shows extremely close performances among the MotoGP protagonists.
Aleix Espargaró crashed without consequences during FP2, but he demonstrated good performance with used tyres that he used for the entire FP1 session. The Spanish rider reported rapid tyre wear, an aspect on which he and his team will be focusing on tomorrow.
Three tenths behind his teammate, Andrea Iannone had a less than perfect feeling with his RS-GP on the Czech track. Weather permitting, the Italian will continue his search tomorrow for the best setup for the qualifiers and the race.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“With race tyres, things work rather well. Unfortunately, the crash in FP2 complicated our plans a bit. I was pretty fast on that lap, but I push harder than usual and the front end closed up on me. On this track, it seems like the tyres drop in performance rather quickly and this is an aspect we need to look at carefully in anticipation of the race.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“It was a difficult first day and, to be honest, I did not expect it to be. Instead, we struggled with various aspects. We need to try to make a radical change. It seems like the bike is rather sensitive to the dips, but that is not the only area we need to concentrate on tomorrow.”