The two Ducati Team riders got their Misano Adriatico weekend off to a positive start today. At the end of the first day of free practice, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo were classified first and second.
After concluding the morning’s FP1 session in first place, Dovizioso did exactly the same in the afternoon with a best time of 1:32.198
He set it in the final minutes of the second session.
“I’m pleased I manage to set the quickest time in both of today’s sessions, but I didn’t have a perfect feeling with the bike during free practice. The track conditions were very different to what we encountered during the test here three weeks ago: there isn’t the same amount of grip, the tyres wear out in a different way and our set-up is not the same. However, we’re fast and we hope that the weather conditions tomorrow will allow us to work some more on the bike because we have to improve for the race”, Dovizioso said.
Here’s what the free practice times look like in the #MotoGP class on Friday ⏱#SanMarinoGP ?? pic.twitter.com/jRNH6hYaGK
— MotoGP™??? (@MotoGP) September 7, 2018
Lorenzo, who was fourth in the morning, was then second quickest in the afternoon with a time of 1:32.358
“For the moment we’ve reached our first target, which was to be competitive right from the very first session. Because of the rain that fell yesterday, in the morning we found the asphalt had very little grip and the situation was rather complicated, but in the afternoon the conditions improved considerably and we managed to get our times down. With the new tyre we proved to be competitive and now we have to work on our pace for the race. I feel really good on the bike, we started off in the best possible way and now we only have to sort out a few details to make a further step forward”, Lorenzo explained.
Look at the photo and guess my combined result of today. ? #JL99 ? #SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/dlFMJAJA04
— Jorge Lorenzo (@lorenzo99) September 7, 2018
Cal Crutchlow also made an impressive start
The Briton finished the day in third spot on the timesheets as the weather held off to allow two dry sessions at the Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Crutchlow was on the pace throughout and served notice of his speed by going second fastest in FP1. With the forecast of rain threatening the rest of the race weekend, a shoot-out developed at the end of FP2 as riders jostled for qualifying positions.
“Because FP1, FP2 and FP3 counts towards qualification of Q1 or Q2, it can make it very difficult to work on rhythm and the stuff that’s important for the race. In the sessions, everybody is throwing different tyres at different opportunities, but we just have to go with the rules”, Crutchlow commented.
“But overall I feel good on the bike, our team is working very well and we have a good shot to be competitive here. The only problem at the moment is that we have a bit of front-locking with the front tyre, so we need to address that situation and improve. But overall we’re confident and happy in our garage.”
