MotoGP Action Begins in Catalunya

2014-06-13 15:29
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were back on track today for the first free practice sessions of this weekend’s GP Monster Energy de Catalunya.

Both Lorenzo and Rossi were quick to re-familiarise themselves with the Montmelò circuit in the first session, Lorenzo leading most of the session before wrapping up in second with Rossi in fourth, just 0.022 seconds behind his teammate.

The afternoon practice saw scorching hot weather and track temperatures of 52 degrees, changing the track conditions and slowing the times a little. Both Lorenzo and Rossi were quick to get on the pace, taking turns to run in the top spot in the first minutes on the medium compound tyre. They dropped a few places down the timesheets having taken pit stops but were back in the hunt towards the end of the session having switched to the harder compound rear tyre.

Lorenzo wrapped up the second session in fourth, just 0.159 from first whilst Rossi finished in sixth, 0.506 from the front.

The results put Lorenzo in fifth in the combined times for the day on 1’42.282 and Rossi in seventh on 1’42.423.


Jorge Lorenzo
5th / 1'42.282 / 15 laps

“In the morning it was good so I didn't expect to have so many problems in the afternoon, but the track was much hotter and we had problems with grip and tyre consistency. Tomorrow we have to decide which tyre to use in the front and rear and try to make the bike more stable in acceleration.”


Valentino Rossi
7th / 1'42.423 / 17 laps

“It's a shame because the track is fantastic but it’s very difficult to ride, especially with the high temperatures, the tyres suffer very much because the load on them is very hard. The surface has a lot of bumps and not much grip. I think we have to work for the future because the surface is quite finished. It’s difficult to control the bike and I’m not very happy about my speed and position. We followed one way with the setting but it was not the right way. This afternoon when it was very hot I suffered in the entry of the corner. We will check the data and decide on the tyres as all options are possible. We also have to decide on the strategy for qualifying.”


Massimo Meregalli

“We started very well this morning, both Jorge and Vale were quickly comfortable and we were able to set a competitive pace for the first session. Unfortunately in the afternoon the temperatures rose considerably and made the situation more complicated, changing the track conditions a lot. With this heat it is more challenging for us to find grip on the corner entry for Vale and stability under acceleration for Jorge, tyre life is certainly an issue. The track surface is also not great which doesn't help matters. We will take the data form today and work to find solutions for tomorrow's third practice."

Source: Yamaha MotoGP

Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story