MotoGP Riders reflect on first day of action at Misano

2021 MotoGP Round 14 Misano Friday

Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) made some headlines when he first tested the RS-GP at Misano and on Day 1 at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini he made a few more. The number 12 was quickest out the blocks in FP1 before the rain came down in the final few minutes, and with conditions remaining damp in FP2 he remains the fastest on Friday.

Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was in close attendance, however, 0.080 off the top as he prepares to make his 100th Grand Prix start on Sunday, with MotorLand winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) starting his home GP in third.

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Maverick Vinales – P1

“I’m especially pleased that I found good sensations straight away. Having already tested here, I am clearly more prepared than in Aragón, but we are still talking about a new bike and a new team. So, we’ll keep our feet on the ground, but it’s comforting to know that I have pace and speed, even in the wet, where I had basically never ridden with Aprilia. We are also improving in terms of how we work in the garage. The team is getting to know me and they understand which changes are the right ones to suit my needs. It’s a process and we are tackling it calmly and without getting caught up in the euphoria. What I want is consistency – to find a good base to work on so that we can be consistently fast.”

Joan Mir – P2

“It was a shame that I wasn’t able to do a time attack with a soft tyre today, because that’s something we want to work on, and we need to work on. But the weather had other ideas! Anyway, my feeling with the bike is good in both wet and dry conditions. We collected a lot of good information today, and although there’s still margin to improve, we’ve done a good job and we feel happy and strong here. The track is unpredictable in the wet so I was very cautious, let’s see tomorrow if we get some dry track time.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P3

“Our first day here at Misano was a positive one: we knew that our bike works very well here, and the fact that both Jack and I were very fast right from the start proved it. Also, three Ducatis were the fastest this afternoon in FP2 in the wet. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t allow us to try some important changes on the setup, but hopefully, the weather will improve tomorrow. After today’s downpour, the track will be much cleaner tomorrow, and we had a lot of grip in the wet, whereas, in the dry, I struggled a little bit because of the sand left by the rain that fell on Wednesday night. Hopefully, we can find the right conditions to try and improve again in FP3 tomorrow morning”. 

Jack Miller – P4

“Today, we were able to ride in different track conditions, and I’m delighted because, in both the dry and wet, we were able to get a good pace right away. This morning I was expecting a slow track after the rain that fell on Wednesday evening, which brought sand, but we were very fast straight away and managed to get a good time on the medium tyre in FP1. I was hoping to do a long run in the dry this afternoon, but it wasn’t possible, but I still had a good time in the wet. Now we have to keep working like this. We know where we can still improve, so I’m confident for qualifying tomorrow”.

Alex Rins – P5

“It was a mixed day; we got the chance to try all conditions. This morning, in the first half an hour of FP1, I felt really good and it was nice to find that feeling so early in the weekend. My best lap was set even with some mistakes, so I think that I can improve tomorrow. The whole of FP2 was in wet conditions, and I managed to do a lot of laps to discover the grip and the limits, that was really useful. I tried a few tyre options today and I feel well prepared for tomorrow.”

Pol Espargaro – P6

“It has been a good day and I’m happy with our dry pace. In the afternoon our feeling in the wet improved throughout the session and we understood more. I felt good and was fast in the dry, so it’s quite a good start to the weekend. The weather still looks a little unpredictable for the weekend so it is good to try the bike in both conditions. Already we have been able to start to build an idea of what the plan will be on Sunday, so this is positive.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“When you look at my position, it looks like I didn’t make any progress in the wet, but considering my feelings on the bike I did make a small step. I improved my lap time at the end of FP2, but I didn’t do any of my fastest sectors on my fastest lap, so there’s a margin for improvement. I think we will make another step working in this direction which will make the setting a bit better. This morning in the dry, the feeling wasn’t good with the soft front, which is not my preferred tyre anyway, and we still were not so far from first. That’s actually positive. We already know what we want to try to improve, we tried it straight away on run 2 of FP1. It won’t take us long because we know what steps to take. It’s important to keep going in this direction so we can fix what’s going wrong.”

Stefan Bradl – P8

“I am happy with the first day, it’s great to be in the top ten. In the wet in the afternoon, it wasn’t easy to understand everything with the track, so we need to understand a bit better if it’s wet. Overall, I am happy with how we have started, we have Free Practice 3 to come – this is what will really count if it’s dry because everyone will push for a fast time. There’s still some testing to do, which got a bit delayed with the rain but we can do it tomorrow. Let’s keep enjoying the weekend and extracting our maximum.”

Marc Marquez – P9

“At the moment our feeling is not bad in the wet and in the dry, it’s not the same as in Aragon and we’re back to what has been out ‘standard’ level this year, more or less. In the dry I could feel some limitations in a couple of corners, but we have time to try and work on the setup to be a bit faster there. Apart from this, let’s see if we can improve tomorrow. Then in the wet, normally we are fast there but we are still missing something. All the Honda riders looked like they struggled a bit so we need to explore this. There’s a few things still to try tomorrow, so let’s see what the weather is like.”

Aleix Espargaro – P10

“Not a very fun day because of the weather. Actually, if we look at our performance, I can consider myself satisfied. This morning, I put the soft tyre on the front to save the harder one that I prefer and I was still able to stay in the top ten. In the afternoon, I struggled a bit to find my confidence in the wet during the first laps, but then things improved quickly. I’m hoping for a dry track, both for qualifying and the race, because the feeling is definitely good.”

Enea Bastianini – P12

“It was a difficult day. We had a good start and immediately I felt pretty good on the bike. I didn’t feel quite comfortable under braking, so that’s something we’ll have to work on tomorrow. It rained in the afternoon, so I took it easy. We’ll keep working tomorrow, but overall it was a good start.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“Today they were tough sessions, both the morning and afternoon, especially this afternoon in FP2 in wet conditions – from the beginning I had no confidence, especially the feeling with the front (of the bike). During the session the team tried to improve the feeling, but unfortunately, they couldn’t find a solution and we couldn’t improve. In the dry conditions we were ok, but we’ve still got a lot of room to improve the feeling, the turning, my riding. We’ll try to improve the bike and be ready for FP3 as we definitely need to be in the top 10 to get through to the Q2 session.”

Michele Pirro – P15

“Today, the weather conditioned our first day a lot. In FP1 this morning, we had to finetune the two bikes, and when it was time to push, it started raining. In FP2, I only did a few laps in the rain, but I am happy because, in general, the feeling is excellent. Now we’ll get ready for tomorrow, where the goal will be to get into Q2″.  

Franco Morbidelli – P16

“It was a great day for me. It was really nice to start riding again – and in these colours for this team and with this bike, it was quite funny. For sure, the knee, or the leg, is not in an ideal condition, but I’m certain that I’m able to ride. I think I can do some good improvements throughout the weekend on that matter. For sure, I will also try to make improvements regarding speed, working with the team, and everything else. I will try to adapt as fast as possible. But so far, so good. I’m really pleased with what happened today, and it’s a day that I’m going to remember, for sure.”

Iker Lecuona – P17

“In dry FP1, I struggled a lot in general. We tried something, but it didn’t work very well. I couldn’t turn the bike and on this track it’s really important. We wanted to try in FP2, but it started to rain. Finally, we went out in the wet, which I always like. Still, I didn’t feel very good with the bike and was fighting with the rear grip. I changed the front tyre, went out again and on the third lap I had a bit more lean angle in corner one and had a massive highside. Fortunately, nothing is broken, but I still have some pain in the right foot. I will try to recover for tomorrow and keep working.”

Álex Márquez – P18

“First day here and in the morning in the dry conditions it was a little bit complicated, I didn’t do as I expected in FP1. Unfortunately, in the afternoon we had a wet session and that didn’t give us the opportunity to change that situation and improve the set-up, but we are clear which direction we need to follow. The afternoon in the wet was quite good overall, everything came quite easy and that’s good as it looks like we could get unstable weather over the weekend. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but we’re confident in both conditions and looking forward to improving, especially in the dry.”

Valentino Rossi – P19

“The good thing today was that we could try the track in both conditions; dry and wet. The afternoon’s fully wet practice was a lot better as we could work a bit on the bike, to try to understand what our strong and weak points are in these conditions. It was a shame this morning as we did our normal practice, but then when I changed the tyres it started to rain. It meant our work in the dry was not enough today and we didn’t understand everything that we wanted to. The track is very tricky in many places and it is still difficult to fully understand our potential for this weekend. Let’s see what weather we have tomorrow.”

Danilo Petrucci – P20

“This morning, when we joined the track, there was a lot of traction, but also many bumps, which made everything more difficult. We tried to fix it a bit and had some ideas, but then the rain came and it was very difficult for us to improve the setup. Later in the wet, we got a good feeling, but the conditions have been pretty difficult, as there was a lot of standing water. It was good to ride, but very tricky. We will try again tomorrow.”

Luca Marini – P23

“Today was definitely one of the hardest days of the season as I didn’t find the feeling I was looking for in the dry or in the wet. We couldn’t do much work, FP1 finished earlier than planned and FP2 was in wet conditions. Tomorrow we will have to make some changes to the bike because it’s difficult for me and I can’t do what I want to do. We will keep working to find a solution.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P24

“It’s been strange being on this bike today, but in a good way. I don’t yet feel completely comfortable with my riding position, but the difference in the bike compared to what I have ridden before is huge for me. It took some time to get used to it and I didn’t push this morning, but already the feeling with the bike is good. I need to push a bit more and be faster to understand the details, but we have some things we can try to improve my positions. It has been very nice today though and it feels good to be back in the championship with all the other riders.”

FP1 Report

Viñales was hovering third in FP1 before the number 12 pulled the pin further and went top, and with only just over 10 minutes left of the opening session, the rain then came down in droves. That put paid to that for the rest, and the Spaniard’s 1:32.666 was enough for him to take the honours, 0.080 clear of Mir and just under a tenth and a half ahead of Bagnaia.

Bagnaia was the first in a Borgo Panigale 3-4 as Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was less than half a tenth off the number 63, with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) finding some speed on Friday to complete the top five.

Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) was sixth and the number 44 was one of a few who headed out after the heavens opened, along with teammate and eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez and the two Suzukis.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was P7 in FP1, ahead of HRC test rider and wildcard Stefan Bradl, who reportedly has some chassis comparing to do. Marc Marquez was ninth, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completing the top ten.

On his return following knee surgery, Franco Morbidelli put his new Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP machine into P16, only just over half a second off new – and former – teammate Quartararo. Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas Yamaha SRT), meanwhile, eased into it with a best of a 1:35.211 on his return to the grid and to Yamaha.

FP2 Report

The afternoon was wet, wet, damp and it was Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) who rose to the fore. The Frenchman topped the timesheets after having taken P11 in FP1, and he had a huge half-second margin in hand over Bagnaia in P2. Miller was his teammate’s shadow once again, the Australian 0.069 in further arrears.

Mir had a solid showing, with laptimes hovering around ten seconds off those set in FP1, and the number 36 slotted it into fourth. Marc Marquez was just 0.011 further behind, and the number 93 had a good three tenths to spare ahead of Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as the Portuguese rider leapt into the limelight in FP2.

Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) was next up on the second KTM, 0.095 further back, and the Italian had a bigger gap back to Aleix Espargaro.

Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) put in a solid session on the timesheets but the Spaniard also suffered a big highside at Turn 1, rider ok but a little bruised. Rookie Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) was the only other faller, down at Turn 2.

Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) completed the damp-affected FP2 top ten, just pipping Rins.

Combined Times

FP1 is the same as the combined timesheets after the weather came down, so it’s some interesting reading from the so-far slightly limited running. Viñales and Aprilia grab the headlines, and with the venue one where the number 12 holds the all-time lap record, the RS-GP has tested and where Viñales has tested the RS-GP, it will be interesting to see what happens if the sun returns…

Mir’s strong start in both sessions sends a good warning shot as he arrives fresh from the podium, and Bagnaia’s continued pace, on the back of his first win, likewise. The Italian also had some serious speed at Misano last season…

Miller will want to turn the tables on his teammate on Saturday as he’s fourth, with Rins back in the top five after a tougher Aragon GP outside the top ten on race day. Pol Espargaro is top Honda and pipped Quartararo to sixth by just 0.005, although the Championship leader will surely have more in the locker at a venue Yamaha have dominated eight times.

Bradl impressed to pip Marc Marquez, and Aleix Espargaro is the final rider set to move through to Q2 as it stands. For some, there could be a rain dance for FP3 as they look to move through, but with the weather changing quickly it’s anyone’s guess.

Misano 2021 MotoGP Friday Combined Times

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

Moto2 got the wettest deal of the day at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with both sessions affected by rain and Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) ending the day fastest from his FP1 best.

Home hero Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) was only 0.028 off though, with Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completing the top three.

Points leader Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was down in P22 and teammate Raul Fernandez P25 by the end of play…

Misano 2021 Moto2 Friday Combined Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) kept his form rolling on Day 1, the MotorLand winner topping the timesheets on home turf at the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini in both sessions, ending the day with some time in hand.

Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was his closest company, however, with veteran Italian Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) completing the top three at a venue he’s ruled before.

Misano 2021 Moto3 Friday Combined Times

Moto3 Championship Standings

MotoE

A mixed day at Misano saw Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) top the timesheets after the Brazilian was fastest out the blocks at the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup season finale, setting a 1:43.883 to head the pile by the end of play.

Fellow contender and reigning Cup winner Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40) was second, around a tenth in arrears, with 2021 points leader Alessandro Zaccone completing the top three.

As rain came down ahead of FP2, no one could improve so it’s the top three overall in the top three, although shuffled, on the Friday timesheets. Game on!

Misano 2021 MotoE Friday Combined Times

MotoE Championship Standings

2021 MotoGP Round Five Misano Schedule (AEST)

2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar