Dovizioso and Ducati dominate opening day at Mugello
Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso dominated the opening day at Mugello, topping both Free Practice sessions. High temperatures and a beautiful Tuscan blue sky reigned over a nearly crash-free morning.
Ducati were always going to be a force to be reckoned with at their home track, especially as the Factory team completed a private test at the Tuscany circuit recently, and they sent the partisan crowd home happy after topping the combined timesheets after day one of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
Dovizioso improved his time from the morning session by over four-tenths of a second to set a 1’47.479. The Italian hitting the ground running straight away in FP1, clearly taking advantage of the data gathered during that test to find a good set-up straight away.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’47.479 (1st) – “I am very happy with how this weekend has started for us and above all with the time I set at the end of the session. We are quick and this is fundamental in the search for the best set-up. We are still carrying out some tests in order to improve certain aspects of the Desmosedici GP15 that will allow us to be competitive right until the end of the race. Now we must concentrate on the analysis of the data so that we can have a clear starting-point to work on for tomorrow.”
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez improved throughout the day as he tried a number of different set-up combinations in an effort to deal with the front-end issues and engine problems the RC213V has been suffering from this season. The reigning MotoGP World Champion seemed to find something that worked, as he ended the day just 0.164s behind Dovizioso in second place overall.
Marc Marquez – 2ND 1’47.643 [LAP 11/16] – “Overall, today went quite well. It was a Friday in which we tried several things, especially in terms of electronics to try and improve the engine character, and I’m happy because we have taken a step forward. I’m not yet completely comfortable, but I felt pretty good and it seems that the direction we have taken is the right one. Now we need to put in more laps, find our race pace and continue to evolve to be as close as possible to the fastest riders.”
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo came to Mugello full of confidence following his comprehensive victories at Jerez and Le Mans, and straight away, he looked fast and smooth around the 5.2km circuit. The Spaniard, who has not finished outside the top two in the last 6 races at Mugello, set the third fastest time of the day, just 0.373s off the top.
Jorge Lorenzo – 3rd / 1’47.852 / 36 laps – “I‘m not completely satisfied with the way the bike is working. Concerning the setting of my YZR-M1, I think we have a big margin for improvement. Little by little we are going to make progress in most of the corners, but to begin the weekend with second and third place and a good pace is a nice start. Let‘s see if we can improve the bike and lose half a second in terms of pace tomorrow, because I think it can be much better.”
Andrea Iannone finished the day in fourth place, despite the problem with his left shoulder which he injured during testing at the Tuscany circuit on May 12th.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’47.940 (4th) – “I had hoped to be in a better condition but instead I am having to make a big effort on this track, more than I expected. It’s not so much a question of pain, it’s more that I need too much strength, which in this moment I simply don’t have. I am not able to move my left shoulder the way I want to and so I’m losing a lot in the changes in direction, and there are a lot of them here at Mugello. I have to grit my teeth and do my best. As for the bike, I am quite pleased, we knew that the GP15 would be competitive here, I’m just sorry I’m not in the best condition to be able to make the best of its performance.”
It was a good day for British riders as Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith ended the day in fifth as the leading satellite rider, managing to finish just ahead of his compatriot Cal Crutchlow on the CWM LCR Honda, with less than a tenth of a second separating the two.
Bradley Smith – 5th / 1’48.038 / 42 laps – “The first day has been really positive and I am pleased with how the bike feels at this circuit, which I am a big fan of. We have been fast from the word go which is a good opening to the weekend especially as we have struggled here a little bit in the past. Yet today, I was able to ride the bike exactly how I wanted to and I sampled both types of compound for the front and rear tyres, so now we have a good indication of which direction to head towards. I’m even happier as I still feel there is room for improvement as my lap was not quite perfect. Tomorrow we need to work a small amount on the balance of the bike, especially in the afternoon when the temperature increases, as this will be critical for the race on Sunday. Overall, we’re less than two tenths back from the factory Yamaha of Lorenzo, so we are in a good place, but tomorrow we need to make another step forward to get into the 1’47 lap times.”
Cal Crutchlow #35 (6th – 1’48.124) – “I was quite pleased, we did a very, very good lap time with 27 laps on the tyre in the afternoon, but the problem came when we put the new ones on at the end as we didn’t go much quicker. We definitely need to improve, but I think I know the areas where I want to improve – in the first sector we’re losing a lot of time, but the rest is not too bad. We’ve had a good start to the year, we had a podium in Argentina and a fourth in Jerez. We had problems in some of the other races, but I’m quite happy and the package is working well. I’m gaining experience with the bike all the time, it’s quite a difficult bike to ride – you have to change your riding style a lot and it’s very different to what I’m used to. But I’m enjoying it a lot, learning all the time and the team are doing a good job.”
Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS’s Scott Redding showed signs of improvement as he finished in eighth overall, just behind the injured Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR in seventh. Espargaro underwent surgery on his right thumb to repair a damaged ligament after Le Mans and he was finding it hard to get enough brake pressure through his injured hand, with his team saying they will assess his injury session by session.
Aleix Espargarò 7th – “I’m happy I finally could ride, I was very worried about my hand and I’m so satisfied that I could finish both of today’s sessions. It hurts a lot because the handlebar pushes on the ligament every time that I brake, and also a week without training is affecting my performance a little, therefore at the moment I can’t run more than three-or-four good laps in a row, but being in seventh place is something we must be proud of. According to my situation we worked a lot on set-up to find the best configuration for short runs. Of course tomorrow we will have to focus also on the race-pace and distance. For this we will work on the bike but I will also evaluate the options we have with the doctors. Today I decided not to take any invasive options for the pain, but I struggled a lot so maybe there is something the doctors can help me with.”
Scott Redding: 8th – 1’48.164 – “The feeling with the bike is a little bit better here. I know that I need to change a few things with my style and we need to change a few things with the bike. We were held up a little on the fast lap but it still felt good. We’ve a few things that we need to try to help me a little bit more but the main thing is that I’m starting to get the feeling back about how it should be when I ride the bike. It’s just a matter of building up the confidence more and more now.”
It was another hard first day of Free Practice for the current MotoGP World Championship leader Valentino Rossi, who found himself down in ninth place on the combined timesheets. Once again, the Italian struggled during the Friday of a Grand Prix weekend, emphasising his woes by running off track late on in FP2 as he pushed too hard.
Valentino Rossi – 9th / 1’48.211 / 37 laps – “We started the afternoon practice well. I didn’t feel so bad with the bike and I had quite a good pace. I was quite happy, but I had some problems under braking. We tried to modify the setting so I could brake harder, but we didn’t find a good solution and at the end I came back out on my normal bike and decided to try the harder tyre on the front and rear. The front wasn’t so bad, but the rear was a bit too hard and I didn’t have enough grip on the left side for me to push to the maximum. However, it’s good for us to try these things to gain data and tomorrow we try to modify and to improve the bike, especially under braking in the last section. It looks like Jorge had the best pace, but Dovi is also fast and so is Marquez. It’s only Friday, so it’s too early to say who will be the hardest to beat, but they seem to be in good shape.”
Pol Espargaro completed the top ten on the second Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1. Pol Espargaro – 10th / 1’48.283 / 39 laps – “The day started in a good fashion this morning, but the second free practice session was a bit more challenging. For some reason, I didn’t feel too comfortable on the bike and the lap times did not come easily, so we have to check the data and make a good plan for tomorrow. Nevertheless, the gap to the guys in front is very small as we are all so close together, which is positive, but for today a 10th position finish is nothing to be happy about. However, there are some positives to take. We tried a front tyre which I actually quite liked but the best thing is that my arm is definitely doing much better than I expected and I hope it won’t influence my race too much.”
Dani Pedrosa completed a long run this morning of 14 laps to test the fitness of his recently operated upon right arm, which was positive. He had a few issues with the electronics in the afternoon and finished 14th in the combined times with his lap of 1’48.435 recorded on lap 10 of 18.
Dani Pedrosa – 14TH 1’48.435 [LAP 10/18] – “The first day did not go all that well, but I do not think that it is too significant; we’ll see if we can improve tomorrow. This afternoon we had a problem with the electronics on the bike that did not allow us to put in all the laps we had wanted to do, but we will try to fix this tonight and hope that tomorrow we can finish higher up in preparation for the race.”
Maverick Viñales worked hard to develop some set-up configurations to exploit his GSX-RR potential at its best. The advantage of the Suzuki chassis is more evident in handling, giving the young Spaniard an advantage especially in the middle sectors of the Mugello lap. His lap times got better-and-better every run, eventually ending the day in 15th place with 1’48.493, less than two-tenths from the top 10.
Maverick Viñales – “It’s been a positive day. Despite the position in classification we did a good job and finally managed to improve our performance run-after-run. We are working to finalise a good set-up that can let me be confident with the bike, so far I feel very confident on the handling part of the track while we suffer on the main straight, but this is not news to us. The important thing is that my GSX-RR is performing in the high-speed corners and in the direction changes, I will exploit this as best I can. For sure tomorrow we want to get a better position for Q2 and also for the grid.”
Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera finishing as the top Open class rider in 16th.
Jack Miller enjoyed an encouraging opening day on Friday as he ended 19th quickest during free practice for the Italian Grand Prix. The CWM LCR rookie struggled in the morning session somewhat as he lapped nearly two seconds behind the riders at the head of the field. However, he made real progress in the afternoon, shaving the best part of a second off his time to make up ground on those ahead of him. The Australian believes there is more to come and admitted he was relishing the challenge of tacking the beautiful but testing Tuscan circuit on a MotoGP machine.
Jack Miller #43 (19th – 1’49.030) – “I’m happier with this afternoon’s session, we made some big steps with the bike and I became more comfortable. Now we can start to work more on the smaller settings.
“I am happy to be riding here at Mugello, I’m really enjoying it as it’s an amazing track, although it’s completely different with the MotoGP bike. It’s a real eye-opener! I have been looking forward to coming here and now we’re here it’s really nice.
“We still have to make some steps forward to the front of the field, but we are 1.5 seconds from first place so we are not too far away. We need to keep working hard, but for now I’m very happy.”
It was a remarkable start for the Athinà Forward Racing team on its home track of Mugello. Stefan Bradl ended the afternoon session at the top of the Open standings with a time of 1’48.694 in 17th place.
After struggling in the first session in the morning, the German found a good feeling on the Italian circuit and has improved his time by more than a second, taking the lead of the Open category. Bradl is confident for qualifying where the goal is the pole position in the Open class.
It was a good day of work also for his teammate Loris Baz who finished with a best lap of 1’49.661 in 21st place. The Frenchman focused on the development of the bike and on the race pace to be competitive on a track as particular as Mugello.
Stefan Bradl – 17th / 1’48.694 / 34 laps – “We can be happy today. This morning we struggled but in the afternoon we were able to make a good step forward. We are working in the right direction, the pace is good and I am confident for qualifying.”
Loris Baz – 21st / 1’49.661 / 32 laps – “It was an intense day of work. In the first session the sensations were positive considering that several years have passed since last time I came to this track. It is really an incredible circuit but it’s also pretty tough. I struggled more in the afternoon, we have been using worn tyres just to try some solutions for the race. Compared to Le Mans we made a step forward: the bike turns better, I just need to find more grip.”
Nicky Hayden began this morning with the setup used in France, and managed to take the sixteenth fastest time – 1.3 seconds off the top spot. Unfortunately, in the afternoon he was not so lucky and right at the start a traction control issue forced him to return to the garage. Once the crew had discovered it was just an electronic glitch, the Aspar rider was able to get back on track -but could not improve his morning best time.
Eugene Laverty also set his best pace and fastest lap of the day in the morning. The Northern Irishman placed twentieth in the first session, but an afternoon crash on the last corner of the Mugello track prevented him from going higher than twenty-third. Laverty identified the setup of his front forks as the culprit for the crash, and will look to eradicate excessive sliding in tomorrow’s practice sessions.
20th Nicky Hayden 1.49.261 (35 laps): “This morning things went quite well. We started with a setup similar to at Le Mans and the pace was optimal. We found a couple of things that we need to work on, but overall we were happy. However, in the afternoon we suffered some setbacks. After completing the first lap of the afternoon session I had to return to the garage because the control panel of my bike showed a warning that my traction control was disabled. We wasted a lot of time on that, but fortunately it was just a glitch. Upon discovering that, we went back out to confirm that everything was working properly -but this circuit is not easy, we had to redo our work and we didn’t have much time at our disposal. At the end we fitted a new rear tyre to try to improve, as we still had the tyres on from the morning. When we put that tyre on, the front end slid out a lot. The second session was not productive for us, so tomorrow we will go back to what we had this morning.”
24th Eugene Laverty 1.49.815 (34 laps): “I’d gone a long time without crashing and now we have had five crashes since Jerez. All of them have been the same, losing the front, so we have to work to improve the setup and get the front wheel to completely stop sliding. I have confidence in the front tyre and I always try to push, so we have to find a setup for the forks that is much more secure in order to prevent crashes. The lap was still very good, with new tyres, but it was a shame about the crash. I accept my part of the responsibility but hopefully we can learn from this fall. The positive thing is that today, after trying different configurations, we have improved the maneuverability of the bike. I always brake very strongly but I was finding it hard to turn the bike in, and today we carried out a change in geometry thanks to which I can now turn much better. It has not been a big change, but this bike is very sensitive, so a small change has given us a lot and now it seems that the bike weighs 20kg less.”
The first day of free practice at the Italian Grand Prix forced Aprilia Racing Team Gresini to set an extraordinary work pace. In fact, if the entire 2015 season is set up as a long and demanding test of the MotoGP project’s growth for the Italian team, the home round is characterised by a series of development changes on the Aprilia V4.
As already announced, the seamless gearbox made its début on Friday. This is a continuous shifting system which, after the tests that only Bautista conducted at the post-Jerez sessions, here it is available for both riders. Some changes to the setup and chassis arrived as well for the RS-GP bikes. A series of new solutions tested directly in the races in accordance with the spirit of this championship season.
At the end of the first day Alvaro finished in 21st place (1’49.741) whereas Melandri had the 26th best time at 1’51.800.
Romano Albesiano – (Aprilia Racing Manager) -0 “We brought the seamless gearbox to the races for the first time. It worked very well with both riders and this is an important step taken. It is quite significant that even Melandri, who also tried the bike with the conventional gearbox today, confirmed the clear difference between the two solutions. Marco also tried a front end with various rigidity but that doesn’t seem like the right direction for us. At the moment we are focusing a lot on the setup because that’s where we want to improve the most.”
Alvaro Bautista – “This morning I tried a more tapered saddle with new ergonomics which make me feel a bit more comfortable on the bike, in addition to the seamless gearbox and an engine evolution. On the gearbox I had the same good feelings as the tests at Jerez so I’m satisfied. In the afternoon I tried a smaller fairing which performed well in the wind tunnel and on the track it also seems to provide some advantages in terms of more agility. The bike still tends to go wide coming into turns but tomorrow I’ll have both the bikes fitted with all the changes so it will be easier to focus on chassis comparisons, which is the area where I think we have the most room for improvement.”
Marco Melandri – “Today I was able to try the new seamless gearbox for the first time and it works well. Aprilia did a good job. As for the chassis the situation hasn’t changed and I had the same problems that have continued to slow me down since the beginning of the year. So tomorrow we’ll try to work more on the chassis to improve.”
Rabat on top by just 0.001s after day one at Mugello
Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS’s Rabat, the reigning Moto2™ World Champion, broke the lap record at the Tuscany circuit as he recorded a 1’52.311, the fastest ever time set by a Moto2™ bike.
Current championship leader, Johann Zarco, finished in second by the slenderest of margins, just 0.001s behind Rabat, as he too went faster than Pol Espargaro’s Pole Record (1’52.369) from 2012.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes was fastest during FP1 in the morning, but had to settle for third overall, 0.354s behind Rabat. Le Mans race winner Thomas Luthi, on the Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex, also had a good day as he finished in fourth on the combined timesheets. The Swiss rider has often struggled in the past with consistency, and will be hoping to back up his winning performance at the French GP with another good performance in Mugello.
Athina Forward Racing’s Simone Corsi also managed to lap under the 1’53 mark, as he finished 0.611s back from Rabat in fifth. Takaaki Nakagami made it into the top six on the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex with a 1’53.139, with AGR Team’s Axel Pons in seventh, while Alex Rins on the Paginas Amarillas HP40 bike was eighth fastest overall.
Sandro Cortese on the Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex and Federal Oil Gresini Moto2’s Xavier Simeon were ninth and tenth respectively, with less than a second separating the top ten. Marcel Schrotter (Tech 3) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Athinà Forward Racing) were the only two crashers,
Italian riders set pace on first day of Moto3 Practice
It was another good day for Italian riders in front of their passionate home fans, as they carried on where they had left on in Le Mans. After locking out the podium at the French GP, Gresini Racing Moto3’s Bastianini led the way in FP1, before Antonelli set the fastest time of the day in FP2 to top the combined timesheets with a 1’57.616. This time was two-tenths faster than the Circuit Record at Mugello set during the race in 2013 by Efren Vazquez, although it is still some way off Alex Rins’ Pole Record from last year, a 1’56.999.
Leopard Racing’s Vazquez improved by over a second throughout the day to end the day in 2nd overall, although he was 0.585s behind Antonelli. Isaac Viñales (+0.613s) was only a further 0.028s further back from Vazquez, as he showed that the Husqvarna Factory Laglisse could be a force to be reckoned with over the weekend.
Miguel Oliveira (+0.620s) was the fastest KTM in fourth ahead of Bastianini, who was one of only a handful of riders to not improve on their time from the morning, while the race winner from Le Mans, Sky Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati, finished the day in sixth.
Moto3™ World Championship leader Danny Kent found himself down in seventh on the combined timesheets after setting the 2nd quickest time during the morning session.
Bastianini’s teammate Andrea Locatelli finished the day in eighth overall, while Brad Binder and Alessandro Tonucci completed the top ten. Niklas Ajo (RBA Racing team) added his 7th crash of the season in the Casanova corner, and Darryn Binder (Outox Reset Drink Team) lost control of his bike in the Bucine, on turn 15.
Remy Gardner is having pain on his right hand and this specially affects him when he has to change the riding line very fast in the middle of the Mugello’s chicanes. Despite this, Australian progression has been good because he started the day 3.7 seconds behind the best lap time and finished just 2.1 seconds down on the leaders.
2 # Remy Gardner (1’59:772): “It’s been a tough day but I think that we’ve done a good job and progression. The gap to the top is not so big and I’ve been improving during the whole day despite my physical problems. After my crash at Le Mans I’m having a lot of pain in my right hand during some kind of moves and it forces me to lose some tenths in some points of this demanding track. I hope to feel better tomorrow and improve significantly”.
