Cautious Start for Movistar Yamaha on Soaked Opening Day in Spain
. By Bikeland Staff
Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi started the fourth round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship today at an overcast Circuito de Jerez. While rain dampened the pace in FP1, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP duo rounded up the FP2 session in Spanish sunshine, taking sixth and twelfth place respectively and the same positions in the combined time sheets.
Eager to claim a position in the top ten at the end of the first day, Viñales headed out on track to get familiar with the circuit. However, wet track conditions and persistent rain meant he had to stay cautious. The Spaniard was aware that the weather was predicted to clear up later in the day, so he took no unnecessary risks and set a best time of 1'52.555s, 0.907s from first, earning him tenth place.
The young gun made great progress in the afternoon when the sun came out. He improved to a 141.718s and was on course to better his position, when a small crash in turn nine lost him some track time. Fortunately uninjured, Viñales hurried back to the pit box. This slight set-back didn't stop him from pushing at the end of the session, when he set a 140.379s lap for sixth place, 0.959s from first.
Teammate Rossi also kept his patience in this mornings miserable conditions. With FP1 being uncharacteristically wet for the Andalusian circuit, he used the session to adjust his bike's wet setting and assemble some valuable data to be used for future wet GPs. He slowly upped his pace during the 45-minute outing and finished with a best lap of 1'53.263s, for 16th position, 1.615s from the front.
The Doctor carried forward his gradual improvements in the afternoon. He was keen to return to the track and get a feel for the drying Circuito de Jerez, whilst skilfully avoiding the wet patches. He continued to work hard on his setting and dropped under the 1'41-mark on his third and last stint. His fastest time of 140.698s leaves him just outside the top10, in 12th place in today's combined times, 1.278s from the front.
Untitled Maverick Viñales
Im OK. I went a little bit outside of the race line and there were some wet patches. As I told the team, I didnt have the chance to pick up the bike again, so I crashed. Anyway, after I exited pit lane again, I was feeling good with the bike. We still have to improve some areas, but Im quite happy overall, we did a good lap time. Finally for tomorrow, we have to make a good FP3 to go directly into Q2, so we still have to do some work. I tried the aero-fairing, but we still have to try it again tomorrow, because today the track was 50/50 and it was difficult to understand if it was better or not.
Untitled Valentino Rossi
The conditions were quite wet today. This morning the track was full wet and the first impression is that with this bike we suffer a bit more. We have to work. In fact, we were not very fast this morning. In the afternoon it was dry, but not completely, so we had to stay cautious because there were some humid patches. In the afternoon we also had some problems. We are not fast enough, so we have to work.
Massimo Meregalli Massimo Meregalli
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team - Team Director
There was rain predicted for today and it certainly played a role in FP1 and FP2. The track conditions were very tricky in the morning, so we were careful not to take any risks, especially since we expect tomorrow and Sunday to be dry. We made most of the situation to work on a wet setting, that still needs to be improved on this years bike. In the afternoon there were many wet patches on the track and unfortunately Maverick got caught out by one in turn 9 and lost the front. Luckily, he was left unhurt and was able to improve his time. Valentino also faced some difficulties due to the conditions of the track and couldnt work properly on the set-up of his bike. We have work to do on both sides of the garage to fine-tune the settings for tomorrows FP3 and we expect the condition of the track to become better too, which will allow us to exploit our bikes strongest points.
Determined Tech3 pair kick off Spanish Grand Prix campaign
Jonas Folger and Johann Zarco got straight to work in southern Spain today as they firmly intend to close the first European round of the year with two solid displays on Sunday. The opening day of action got off to a wet start as rain fell throughout FP1 yet Jonas Folger powered through and eventually finished 6th. He continued his relentless efforts in the dry afternoon session before completing the practice in 13th, but 0.394 back from Maverick Viñales in 6th. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco showed notable promise today, however, his charge in the afternoon was brought to an unfortunate and premature end due to a minor technical issue.
Jonas Folger Jonas Folger
"Today was good in the end, but I have to admit that it was also quite challenging at times. We started to work on the setting of the bike after the wet morning practice. Then, in the afternoon, the conditions improved and we were able to ride some decent lap times. However, at the beginning of the session, the front of the bike was too soft, and then after that, we were sitting too much on the rear. At the moment, there is some transfer from the front and rear of the bike in between braking and acceleration. Yet, in terms of riding, I learnt a lot today and I really do enjoy riding here. Im certain that if we do a solid job tomorrow and set the bike up well, then we can be successful."
Johann Zarco Johann Zarco
"It was a tricky day in some respects, however, we gained some valuable information and I am upbeat for the rest of the weekend. This morning there was a lot of rain and for me, this was positive as it allowed me to experience my first taste of this track on a MotoGP bike in wet conditions. So I started calmly and I took my time to understand the YZR-M1, the power and the circuit. The feeling was good, even though the position was a bit further back from where I would like to be, but the limit was too far and I need some more time to work and improve. However, in the afternoon, it was dry, with a few damp patches but I was happy to be on the pace quickly. The team and I made a change on the bike, which we had planned in Texas, and it gave me a better overall feeling. The good point is that it worked well on a track like this one, so it will be an improvement for the whole season and for every venue that we visit. Unfortunately, in the end, I had a small technical issue and I didnt want to push and risk anything so I decided to stop, which was the best thing to do. I will remain calm and we will try to improve again tomorrow."