Editorial Note: Use the zoom tool in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewer to see the results more easily.

Editorial Note: Use the zoom tool in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewer to see the results more easily.

More, from a press release issued by Eurosport Events:

YART YAMAHA ON POLE AT THE 24 HEURES MOTOS

YART Yamaha picked up pole position ahead of BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. In Superstock, Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto beat Moto Ain by a whisker to the best starting position.

YART Yamaha claimed pole position thanks to a very consistent team. All three riders – Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccolò Canepa – came in under the 1:37 mark on a lap of the Bugatti circuit. The Austrian factory Yamaha has dominated the proceedings at Le Mans since yesterday, and will start the 24 Heures Motos from pole at 12pm tomorrow (Saturday).

That said, the day’s best performance can be chalked up, not to YART Yamaha, but to BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. Markus Reiterberger posted the fastest qualifying lap, a 1:36.164, without however beating the record set by Randy de Puniet, a 1:35.730 lap in qualifying at the 2017 24 Heures Motos. The Belgian factory team (Kenny Foray, Ilya Mikhalchik and Markus Reiterberger) will take second position on the grid.

The leader of the provisional standings, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon), will start from 3rd just ahead of F.C.C. TSR Honda France’s Josh Hook, Freddy Foray and Mike di Meglio. It could be a tricky race for the Japanese Honda team, as Josh Hook was injured during practice but is expected to be allowed to race. The Honda #5 is ahead of ERC Endurance’s factory Ducati in the hands of Randy de Puniet, Julien da Costa and Louis Rossi.

VRD Igol Pierret Experiences once again managed to slip in among the favourites. In the saddle of the Yamaha #333, Florian Alt, Florian Marino and Mathieu Gines will start from 6th place on the grid ahead of reigning champions Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar.
The Kawasaki squad are without their team manager Gilles Stafler, currently recovering after a heart attack, and still getting to grips with their new Michelin tyres.

Three ambitious teams make up the rest of the Top 10 after qualifying: Tati Team Beaujolais Racing, Wójcik Racing Team and National Motos.

Team 33 Coyote Louit Moto (Kawasaki), the fastest Superstock team, will start from 11th place ahead of Moto Ain (Yamaha), the provisional leader in class, and GERT56 by GS Yuasa (BMW).

The 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos will be flagged off at 12noon CEST on Saturday 29 August by Dominique Meliand, the former team manager of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team starts the “24 Heures Motos” in Le Mans from second place on the grid.

Endurance classic is round three of the 2019/20 season in the FIM Endurance World Championship.

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team well-positioned going into the 24-hour race.
Marc Bongers: “We must now maintain the pace for 24 hours in the race”.

Le Mans. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team has secured second place on the grid in an exciting, two-part qualifying for the “24 Heures Motos” in Le Mans (FRA). The average time of the fastest laps from each of the individual qualifying sessions was 1:36.899 minutes. The #37 BMW S 1000 RR missed out on pole position by less than two tenths of a second.

Qualifying took place on Thursday and Friday, with the weather unsettled at times. Regular riders Kenny Foray (FRA), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Markus Reiterberger (GER) started in the “Blue”, “Yellow” and “Red” groups. Peter Hickman (GBR), the team’s fourth rider in Le Mans, lined up in the “Green” group.

Private BMW team GERT56 by GS YUASA qualified third in the Superstock class (13th overall). Stefan Kerschbaumer (AUT), Lucy Glöckner (GER) and Pepijn Bijsterbosch (NED) will be alternating in the saddle of the #56 BMW S 1000 RR. The LRP Poland team starts from 17th place overall with the #90 BMW S 1000 RR and regular riders Dominik Vincon (GER), Kamil Krzemien (POL) and Bartlomiej Lewandowski.

The 24-hour race in Le Mans marks round three of the 2019/20 season in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC). The race starts at 12:00 on Saturday 29th August and ends at 12:00 on Sunday 30th August.

Quotes after qualifying for the “24 Heures Motos” in Le Mans.
 
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “Second place on the grid is an outstanding starting position for the 24-hour race. We showed in qualifying that we are quick in all conditions with all our riders and the BMW S 1000 RR. However, we are well aware that this is only the first step in endurance racing. We must now maintain the pace for 24 hours in the race, avoid making any mistakes, and have that little bit of luck you need when racing. In a 24-hour race, nobody can predict what might happen over such a long distance. We are definitely well-prepared and the whole BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team will do everything it can to come away with a strong result at midday on Sunday.”

Werner Daemen, Team Manager BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “I am very happy with the way the practice sessions and qualifying played out. We only had one crash today, with Ilya in qualifying, but these things happen, as every rider wants to do their best and push themselves to the limit. Our BMW S 1000 RR is running smoothly, our riders are all on top form, and our fourth rider Peter Hickman was also very impressive. I think we can be very happy with second place on the grid. We are now ready for the race!”

Kenny Foray: “The qualifying was not so bad for us, especially ‘Reiti’ did an absolutely incredible lap today. For me personally, the feeling got better session after session and I feel good on the bike even if I wasn’t able to go my pace so far. But I am convinced that it will be okay during the race. We have all the ingredients for a really good race. We riders are all fast and the team is strong so I expect the best. But 24 hours are 24 hours and I think that the weather will not be the best as we expect some rain, but we will see. I am sure that we can achieve a really, really good result.”

Ilya Mikhalchik: “Overall, we have a strong package. All riders set fast lap times and have a strong pace and this is important in an endurance race. The bike also is really consistent and overall easy to ride, which is also good. So I am definitely looking forward to this long race. We will rest this night to be ready and fit tomorrow and then we try to enjoy these 24 hours of racing.”

Markus Reiterberger: “We were a bit unlucky with the weather yesterday, but we were able to recover well in the better conditions today. Kenny improved his lap time, Ilya unfortunately crashed, and I had to switch to the reserve bike – but we still managed to set the fastest time of the day. Qualifying was suspended after that, because another rider crashed. Maybe I could have gone even faster, as I felt great on the bike. Whatever, we have a good starting position for the race. The pace is there and everyone is doing a superb job. We must now ensure that we get off to a good start, avoid any crashes or mistakes, and get through the 24 hours without any technical issues.”

Peter Hickman: “It is great to be with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. The bike itself was new for me but it has been good and I really enjoyed it. I am happy. I am here as the reserve rider and it was about to get to know the bike as much as possible in case I am needed. The team is really strong and the three regular riders all set real strong lap times and all are comfortable on the bike. The team is strong for the race, all have a good pace. Who knows what happens when we get going but fingers crossed for tomorrow and Sunday.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

YART Yamaha take pole position in Le Mans qualifying thriller

The YART Yamaha trio of Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Niccoló Canepa will start from pole position for the 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans.

Looking to build on their session topping performance in Thursday morning’s official free practice session, YART Yamaha mastered the mixed conditions to finish the first day of qualifying action at the top of the timesheets, +1.317s clear of the chasing pack.

With rain disrupting Thursday’s running, the team knew that the second qualifying sessions held on Friday would be crucial to maintain their top spot.

Hanika was first on track and improved his time by +1.590s compared to his best effort on Thursday, setting a 1:36.895 which matched their best time of the weekend. Attention then then turned to German rider Marvin Fritz who stormed to the top of the timesheets by +0.843s. The 1:36.517s set by the 2016 IDM Superbike champion meant that YART Yamaha was in prime position to hold the lead and claim pole position.

Canepa was the third rider to take to the track; the Italian’s session was interrupted due to a red flag incident when the 2017 World Endurance champion sat at the top of the timesheets. However, he then slipped to second and failed to improve his time on his final run, but it was enough to secure pole for the team.

With Canepa’s times and those of his team-mates, YART secured pole by 0.193s and will start ahead of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

The team head into Saturday’s race full of confidence, with all three riders showing fast and consistent pace, all lapping at a similar pace during their long runs. They also showed consistently quick pace throughout Thursday’s night practice, finishing the session on top.

The Wojcik Racing Team also had a strong qualifying session. Gino Rea, Axel Maurin and Broc Parkes set the ninth fastest time with an average of 1:38.170, +1.464s off their fellow Yamaha squad. Meanwhile, TEAM MOTO AIN will start 12th as they look extend their advantage over the Wojcik team at the top of the independent championship standings and their lead in the FIM World Cup-Teams classification.

YART’s pole position sees them gain an extra five championship points, moving them closer to the top three in the championship on 48 points.

The 43rd edition of the 24 Heures Motos will get underway tomorrow at 12:00 local time with YART Yamaha looking to turn pole into their first win at the French event since 2009.

Karel Hanika  – Time – 1:36.895  

“We have had a good start to the weekend. The setup of the bike is still not at 100%, but we will work on that tonight and during the warm up tomorrow. I did a good lap in qualifying and Marvin also did a great job. Niccoló did enough to secure pole in his session, so we then focused on the race setup. Michael Laverty is helping us a lot with his experience and comments which has helped us take pole position, but the work comes tomorrow at 12 o’clock, but we’ll make sure we do everything we can to bring the bike to the finish and secure points.”

Marvin Fritz – Time – 1:36.517

“We’re very happy to take pole position because we have struggled a bit with the set-up of the bike. Even with the issues, we have faced we’ve been able to finish on top in most sessions. The team is working at 110%, and my team-mates are very fast. We had a really good qualifying session; we all topped our groups, but we still need to figure out the problem with our bike. We are satisfied with the pace, and I think our strongest point will be during the night and open the gap to the other teams. After picking up five points today, our main target is to score as many points in the race.”

Niccoló Canepa – Time – 1:36.708

“We are pleased about taking pole position because all three of us are fast and at a similar pace. We still need to work on the bike to improve our race pace, but it gives us confidence to top almost every session so far and to take pole position. We are all very happy and very satisfied with the work done by the team, and I’m confident we can make another step with the bike tomorrow and fight for the victory at the end of the 24 hours.”

Mandy Kainz – YART Yamaha, Team Manager  
“I’m very pleased to take another pole position in Le Mans and take five extra points in the championship and to close the gap to the leader. We suffered a little bit in qualifying and couldn’t show our full potential, but the performance we put in was good enough for pole and puts us in a good position for the race. This will be the first 24-hour event for the new R1 as we haven’t been able to put in a long-distance test session, so the race for us will be the test, but we’re happy with the pace and think we can fight for the top step.”

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

SUZUKI ENDURANCE 3RD ON LE MANS 24 HOURS EWC GRID

Final Qualifying: SERT – GSX-R1000 (1:37.337) – 3rd.

Suzuki Endurance Racing Team will start tomorrow’s 43rd Edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance World Championship third round from third position on the grid following today’s final qualifying in France.

SERT riders and current championship leaders Etienne Masson, Gregg Black and Xavier Simeon set a time of 1’37.337 based on their combined times.

During yesterday’s first qualifying session, which took place under tricky and changing weather conditions, the team had already demonstrated some of its potential with the fifth fastest time of the day. This afternoon, with better weather conditions, Team Manager Damien Saulnier’s crew confirmed their great form by upping their performance levels: Of the trio, Masson set the best lap time of 1’37.254. Black also showed great control and patience until the end of his session with the third fastest time in his qualifying group (1’37.488) and SERT’s new team member Xavier Siméon – in his first race for the team – was on a strong pace from the start of his qualifying session, steadily improving his performance to log a time of 1’37.355.

The start of this third round of the FIM EWC World Championship race is scheduled tomorrow at noon (12:00 hrs CEST). Eurosport will provide live coverage of the entire race in more than 55 countries. Full live coverage of the race will also be available on the Eurosport digital platform, in English and in French.

Said Team Manager Damien Saulnier: “Following qualification, the official BMW team takes one point away from us, but we keep a 14-point lead. I am still very satisfied with the performances of our riders, but beyond the lap times, it is the atmosphere inside the team that makes me the happiest. There is true teamwork, and cooperation between the riders. It’s extremely productive and it’s paying off. I would also like to thank the engineers from Suzuki in Japan for being in permanent contact with us. They provide us with a great support.”

Editorial Note: Use the scrolling tool in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewers to see all pages of each session’s results.

Editorial Note: Use the scrolling tool in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewers to see all pages of each session’s results.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:

#AragonWorldSBK – Day 1 

Rea leads Kawasaki fightback; Davies on top overall 

All five full-time manufacturers in the top six with nine riders within a second as WorldSBK action hots up at Aragon!

Friday running for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship continued with more ups, downs and surprises. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) set a time of 1’50.543 in Free Practice 1 as he looked to make it eight or more wins at MotorLand Aragon, but the challengers are close behind as Friday showed a close and competitive field.

Davies’ time was set in the morning session and it was enough to top the timings for Friday running despite finishing sixth in Free Practice 2. Davies’ Ducati teammate, Scott Redding, improved in Free Practice 2 to finish third in the afternoon but he was outside the top six in the overall classification, finishing in eighth place overall.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) continued his recent impressive form with second overall, less than a tenth away from Davies’ time as the pair made it a Ducati 1-2 after Friday running. Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was third onboard his machine while teammate Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had an eventful afternoon session, improving his time from Free Practice 1 to finish seventh in the combined classification for the day despite a crash at Turn 14 with around 10 minutes left to go in the session.

Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) was another who had an up and down day; his time in Free Practice 1 good enough for fourth overall but a crash and a technical issue in the morning session hampered the Spanish rider. Bautista did leave the pit lane during Free Practice 2 but did not set a lap time; instead doing out and in laps only. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) was classified in 11th for the day after showing some consistent pace across both sessions.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) started the weekend with a new contract for 2021 and showed why the BMW outfit has kept him for next year with fifth overall in the standings despite a technical issue in Free Practice 1. Teammate Eugene Laverty was down in 16th place, around 1.5 seconds off Davies’ pace.

Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was the fastest Yamaha rider in the field with sixth place overall, less than half a second away from the top time. Baz, who stood on the podium for the first time in six years in WorldSBK at Portimao, beat both factory Yamaha riders Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu; the pair classified ninth and tenth respectively.

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finished just outside the top ten with 12th overall after the two practice sessions, with the American rider showing his potential at points throughout the sessions but unable to break into the top ten. His GRT Yamaha teammate, Federico Caricasulo, was classified in 14th place with Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) separating the two Yamaha riders.

Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished the day in 15th place, the first rider whose lap time was below the 1’52 mark. He was just over a tenth fastest than Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) in 17th with Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) finishing 18th on his return to WorldSBK action.

Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), and Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) were 19th and 20th respectively, just ahead of Christophe Ponsson (Nuova M2 Racing); Ponsson having a crash at Turn 16 during Free Practice 2. MIE Racing Althea Honda Team duo Takumi Takahashi and Lorenzo Gabellini completed the standings after Friday’s running.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Pata Yamaha in the Mix During Friday Sessions at Aragón

The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla worked through a detailed programme to start round four of the FIM Superbike World Championship at MotorLand Aragón today.

With cooler temperatures and distinctly different track conditions expected again tomorrow, both Michael van der Mark and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu focused on refining the set-up of their Yamaha R1 machines for the three points-paying races coming this weekend.

27-year-old Dutchman Van der Mark led the Pata Yamaha contingent, setting the ninth-fastest overall time of 1’51.060, clocked during the cooler morning of Friday’s two 50-minute Free Practice sessions.

Razgatlıoğlu was one of only four riders to improve their lap time in the afternoon as many, including the Pata Yamaha duo, opted to focus on race pace and tyre wear in the hotter conditions. He set a lap of 1’51.097 to jump from 13th in the morning to fourth quickest in FP2 and 10th overall, behind his team-mate.

Tomorrow the two Pata Yamaha riders will tackle the 18-lap, 91.386 km opening race at 14:00 local time (GMT+2) after the all-important Tissot Superpole qualifying at 11:00, which determines the grid positions for both Race 1 and the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday morning.

Michael van der Mark: P9 – 1’51.060

“We had a good test here but the bike feels a bit different than it did then, so we have worked to tweak the set-up a little bit. I think if you look back at today’s results, the position isn’t really an indication of where we are – our pace is really good and the feeling on the bike is too, so we just have to get everything together. The race pace is solid, so I’m not really worried about that, just some small things to find some extra grip and overall performance – then we are ready.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P10 – 1’51.097

“Today was not a bad start, we tried to find more grip with the bike because it is very important for this track and for the rear tyre life, and we want to fight for the win. Now we are ready with a good set-up and tomorrow morning we will try again to make another step forward. We will see if it is possible to fight for victory in Race 1. It’s not an easy track but I feel we are improving step-by-step.”

Paul Denning, Team Principal

“It’s been an interesting first day’s work here at Aragon, with conditions that seem to be quite different to the test that we recently conducted. The best lap times for the top group are all very, very close but the result here will come from being able to maintain a decent lap time for the full race distance. It looks like we’ve made some good improvements with rear grip and rear stability. Despite the quite competitive performances today, there are still some steps that we need to take to get both Pata Yamaha riders fully comfortable and to exploit their full potential in the first race. Michael and Toprak did a lot of laps, particularly this afternoon, and managed to achieve a good rhythm. That’s always important in terms of studying the data and understanding where we can help them more.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Third Quickest On Day One

KRT official WorldSBK rider Jonathan Rea was third on the combined timesheets after the completion of the first day of track action at Motorland Aragon in Spain. For some time Alex Lowes (KRT) had been the fastest rider in the hot afternoon session but was finally ranked seventh overall, thanks to his pace in the morning practice session.

After testing well at Motorland recently the KRT duo set about their final race preparation work around the 5.077km long circuit in the hills of northern Spain.

Track temperatures rose 12 degrees from morning to afternoon, reducing outright grip in FP2. Because of the change in temperature between sessions Rea’s team made a major set-up change in the afternoon today, but Rea sees a return to the morning set-up as the best option for race one.

Lowes took his recent personal testing experience on the Ninja ZX-10RR at Motorland and concentrated on finding a full race distance set-up to be ready for his first Aragon races in Kawasaki colours this weekend.

With lots of experience of racing in hot conditions each KRT rider performed strongly in the heat of the afternoon sessions at Motorland, although Alex was unlucky to lose the front in a slow speed crash in final few minutes of action in FP2.

Free practice three and then Superpole qualifying on Saturday 29 August will be the final pre-race action for the WorldSBK riders.

Race one will take place at 14.00 on Saturday in Motorland, and is scheduled to run for 18 laps. The 10-lap Tissot-Superpole ‘sprint’ on Sunday morning will be followed by the final full distance race two, again at 14.00.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “I felt OK with the bike today because we had a test here a few weeks ago. We understood the base set-up. In the second session we made a big change with the wheelbase of the bike to understand how it is working in these hotter conditions. I think we will go back to what we had this morning and at the test. It seems like tomorrow is going to be a little bit cooler so we can understand the tyres in the morning FP3 session and make a final race plan from there. We have a good idea that our bike will work OK in the cooler conditions, so tomorrow’s target is to make a time attack in Superpole to get a good grid position and then make a solid 18 laps. I feel excited about it because there are a lot of guys in the front, quite close together, so we need to do our homework tonight and come back swinging tomorrow.”

Alex Lowes, stated: “We came here with the set-up we had at the test and I felt quite good on the bike. I had a little problem in the morning session so I did not do my first long run continuously but my lap times were quite good – when you put a full lap together. I stayed on the same tyre because I feel like the race is going to be more like this morning’s cooler temperatures and it looks like it is going to be like that on Saturday. In the afternoon I was fast, really, able to do 1’51 laps for the two longer runs and improve my time. I knew we should be fast because we worked really hard at the recent test here and we found some good stuff for the bike set-up. Then I got a bit excited at the end and fell during the last FP2 run, which was a shame. I had just put on a fresh tyre and went in a bit fast. But the bike is working well, especially in hot conditions, and that is what has come on most since the test.”

Maximilian Scheib (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) placed 13th from 23 riders on the first day at Motorland, with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 15th. Roman Ramos (Outdo Kawasaki TPR) ended day one 18th fastest.

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

#AragonWorldSBK. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team heads the timesheets on the first day of free practices: Davies on top, while Redding finishes third in FP2

The first two free practice sessions for the Prosecco Doc Aragon Round ended with very positive feelings for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team.

Chaz Davies was the protagonist of the day thanks to the first place in the combined classification. The Welsh rider got off a great start in FP1 – finishing the session in first position – then worked intensively in FP2 with used tires registering a very incisive race pace.

Scott Redding struggled a bit to find the best feeling in FP1 but in the afternoon session – even without trying the soft rubber – he was one of the few riders who manage to improve the morning’s time by closing in third position only 166 thousandths of a second from the best FP2 lap time set by Rea.

FP1 | Final Standings

P1 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.543

P2 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’50.601 +0.058

P3 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.736 +0.193

P4 – A. Bautista (Honda) 1’50.765 +0.222

P5 – T. Sykes (BMW) 1’50.926 +0.383

P11 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.439 +0.896

FP2 | Final Standings

P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.865

P2 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 1’51.001 +0.136

P3 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.031 +0.166

P4 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’51.097 +0.232

P5 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’51.140 +0.275

P6 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.218 +0.353

FP1-2 | Combined Standings

P1 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.543

P2 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’50.601 +0.058

P3 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’50.736 +0.193

P4 – A. Bautista (Honda) 1’50.765 +0.222

P5 – T. Sykes (BMW) 1’50.926 +0.383

P8 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.031 +0.488

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)

“I’m very happy to have finished today in first position but especially for how we worked in both FP1 and FP2. We started this morning with the set up with which we ended the test two weeks ago and the feeling was positive since the first laps. This allowed us to immediately understand which was the right direction to follow. We must continue to work on the tires because we will have different solutions available and we will have to understand which will be the best one in view of the race”.

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)

“We struggled a bit this morning but since the early laps of FP2, we have been able to make some improvements, step by step, working a lot with used tires. We still have to figure out how to solve some details but we will continue to work with great confidence. The weather conditions? Maybe they will be a bit different tomorrow but it will be the same for all riders. The important thing is that we have made important steps forward on the set up to improve ourselves”.