Home hero Jorge Lorenzo made a scorching start to the Grand Prix of Catalunya today, dominating the second free practice session from the start. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider was the only rider under the 1’43 mark for most of the session. Lorenzo was briefly off the top spot as a flurry of fast laps came in as the session wound down, but swiftly retook it with a blistering 1’42.099, 0.207 seconds clear at the top.
Team mate Ben Spies was clearly enjoying the Catalunya circuit today. Building speed from the first session to the second, he was the first rider to threaten Lorenzo’s top spot in practice two and the second rider to break under the 1’43 mark. A fast consistent pace saw the Texan wrap up the day in seventh on the combined times, with a fastest lap of 1’42.802.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position : 1st Time: 1’42.099 Laps: 31
“The feeling is good today, we started this morning two tenths behind Casey, then this afternoon from the beginning we’ve been in first position. We tried the hard rear tyre which is very important for this track because it’s a real possibility for the race on Sunday. We must improve some little details, especially the braking as we are arriving in the corners at a very high speed but generally we are good. This is a special race for me so close to my home, I really want to be fighting for the podium and the victory for the fans who have come to see me.”
Ben Spies
Position : 7th Time: 1’42.802 Laps: 33
“I’m happy, it was a good day. We didn’t set the world on fire but we got down to some decent times and got comfortable on the bike. I think we’ve got some stuff figured out for tomorrow to make the bike quite a bit better. I know what I want out of it; we just need a bit of a different set up. The bike is working really good and the team’s working well, we just need to make the set up a bit better so I can push it harder.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“A very good session this afternoon. It’s still not perfect, we are struggling a bit on braking so we need to try and get the bike stopped better on the end of the straight. Overall we are very happy with our position, P1 is always nice! So far we’re quite pleased, we’ll now work to improve for tomorrow.”
Massimo Meregalli – Team Director
“A good start today for both riders. Jorge is leading; he clearly has the pace and a good base set up. On Ben’s side we are satisfied because he pushed from the start in the morning. His approach is really good so let’s see what we can do tomorrow. We have some settings to adjust but overall it’s looking good.”
