Espargaro fourth with De Angelis returning to MotoGP™ in tricky conditions

Espargaro fourth with De Angelis

Espargaro’s best lap time of 1’57.002, was less than two tenths from Marc Marquez’s best time, as the World Champion lapped as fastest rider on track. It was an important day for De Angelis, who made his debut on the Forward Yamaha in the morning with a positive feeling.

The second free practice session was affected by the rain. Both Espargaro and De Angelis spent FP2 working on their wet set-ups but the session was not hugely productive as the track started to dry after the first 20 minutes. De Angelis, who gradually improved in FP1 to finish 19th, hoped to improve his lap time in the FP2, but with the rain he had to start to understand the new machine in the wet.

Espargaro commented, “This morning we struggled with the front because the bike doesn’t turn as I would like. We made some big changes for the FP2 and the first impression was positive but I couldn’t confirm the solutions we were testing as it started to rain. It was a pity because then the track started to dry so we couldn’t really use the session to refine the set up. If we have these conditions on Sunday it will be a very difficult race, because half track was completely dry while another half wet.”

De Angelis added, “It’s great to return in MotoGP and I’m happy with the result we got this morning. We started with a “standard” set –up, with a lot of traction control just to get the feeling with bike. Lap by lap we improved and I’m satisfied. The plan was to continue to work in the afternoon, but due to the rain I had to try the wet set. I struggled more in the FP2 and it was not easy to understand the bike in these changing conditions. Anyway I’m confident I can improve during the weekend.”

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