Damp and eventful first day at Valencia sees De Puniet on top

2012-11-09 12:13
On the first day of the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana that was marred with damp and awkward track conditions it was Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet who went fastest in the premier-class ahead of Michele Pirro and Nicky Hayden.

In drying yet damp track conditions in the afternoon session, not many of the top-runners set a lap time, leaving it to the CRT contingent to test the surface. And it was ultimately De Puniet who set the quickest time in the high 1.36s, before retiring with a mechanical issue three minutes before the end. This moved San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Michele Pirro into second place, with the Italian just over a tenth of the French rider.

Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, who had been fastest in the fully wet morning session, left it late to head out on track on a pair of slicks, as the leading duo had, and managed to jump up to third on the timesheets. Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham put in seven laps on his satellite Ducati, ultimately ending the day in fourth just over eight-tenths off the top.

Hayden’s teammate Valentino Rossi was the first prototype to emerge out on track with slicks, yet took it relatively easy, before putting in a lap that saw him come in fifth. Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci will be pleased to see his name in sixth on the time chart, with the Italian seemingly finding a good rhythm with his Suter-BMW machine.

Behind him in seventh, Avintia Blusens’ Iván Silva was the first man out on track in difficult conditions, and was leading much of the session when still on wet tyres. Continuing the theme of CRT bikes in the top ten, Speed Master’s Roberto Rolfo finished the day in eighth place, ahead of Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison, who did well to recover from a crash in the morning session. Avintia’s Hiroshi Aoyama made his return to MotoGP™ aboard the BQR-FRT machine in tenth.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso, as well as the Repsol Honda Team duo of Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were among those not to complete a flying lap, with very little to be learned in such conditions. Katsuyuki Nakasuga also crashed, but escaped unhurt, while Italian rider Claudio Corti made his GP debut on board Avintia Blusens’ Inmotec chassis. He has also been confirmed as teammate to NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards for next season.


Moto2

Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez was on record pace in the second free practice at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, finishing the day ahead of Pol Espargaró and Scott Redding.

Tuenti Movil HP 40’s Espargaró had looked to take top spot in the session having already beaten the track record, yet it was Moto2™ World Champion Marc Márquez who put in a stunning lap in the dying seconds with a 1.36’090, just under four hundredths faster than his compatriot. Márquez’s session was however not without incident, as a strong pass on Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi saw the Italian crash, with the champion later heading to his pit box to apologise. He was later penalised by Race Direction, and will start Sunday’s race from last on the grid. His team did not appeal against the decision.

In third, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding put in a good showing with a lap less than two tenths off the top, ousting Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone into fourth. The Italian, who has been a bit off colour in recent races, will be pleased with his afternoon’s form, as he looks to defend third place in the championship. JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco continued his good showing this weekend, although briefly dropped his bike in the gravel after running wide.

Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi came in sixth, ahead of Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol, who will hope to put on a good show at his home circuit, after having Turn 4 named after him. Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón, Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter and Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio completed the top ten, all within a second of the top spot. The only other crasher in the afternoon was TSR Galicia School wildcard Dani Rives, while in the morning, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s replacement rider Mattia Pasini crashed out of the session half way through, shortly after QMMF Racing’s replacement rider Rafid Topan Sucipto. All crashers walked away unscathed.


Moto3

In the second Moto3™ free practice for the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana it was Caretta Technology’s John McPhee who took advantage of the conditions to top the day’s timesheets ahead of Jack Miller and Alex Márquez.

The afternoon Moto3™ session started wet, although the rain from earlier in the day had stopped. As riders went out on wet tyres, a dry line started to form, although the vast majority did not switch to slicks at the end with conditions still appearing a bit risky. It was however McPhee who thought otherwise and set a fast lap right at the very end on a pair of slick tyres to set the quickest time of 1.50’503, followed by teammate Jack Miller, who had also switched to those tyres.

Following the duo was Ambrogio Next Racing’s Alex Márquez just over six tenths down, with RW Racing GP’s Brad Binder in tow. Binder had appeared to be on a faster lap, yet was held up in the final few turns. In fifth, Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger looked to be the quickest of the session throughout as he was consistently at the top of the timesheets when the track was still wet. He was almost evenly matched on pace by Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales, who will have to get a good result this weekend if he is to finish runner-up in the championship.

AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin ended the day in seventh, followed by reigning Moto3™ World Champion Sandro Cortese. Cortese will aim to finish the season with another win, yet did not look to be risking anything in the mixed conditions. Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi was ninth, just over 1.3s off the top, with Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Danny Kent rounding out the top ten. The only crasher of the day was TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo in the wet morning session.

Source: MotoGP

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