The only Grand Prix of the season to take place on a Saturday got underway today with the first free practice sessions also taking place one day earlier than usual.
After a meeting called by Race Direction at the circuit yesterday to warn the Moto3 riders of their conduct on track, specifically in relation to their behaviour in looking for slipstreams during qualifying, which came to a head in the recent GP de Catalunya, the action resumed today with a familiar look to the timing sheets.
Series leader Danny Kent was the fastest rider in both free practice sessions and the only man capable of breaking the 1’42 barrier today; his best effort of 1’41.860 is the fastest ever Moto3 lap around the legendary Assen circuit, although the British rider wasn’t the only man in good form.
Jorge Martín and Pecco Bagnaia kicked off the Dutch TT with optimism and positive sensations on their bikes. Both riders made notable improvements in the second session this afternoon, having spent the entire day working with used rubber as they make their preparations for Saturday’s race.
The Spaniard improved by four tenths this afternoon to finish with a best lap of 1’43.506, whilst the Italian found a full second. Both riders are happy with the medium tyre as their choice for Saturday’s race and tomorrow they will focus on setting a fast lap on fresh rubber to secure an optimum starting position on the grid.
Juanfran Guevara was only slightly off the pace of his team-mates today as he struggled to find the solution to a front-end set-up issue.
18th Jorge Martín 1.43.506 (32 laps):
“We made a strong start this morning but the change in temperature this afternoon had a considerable effect on the performance of the bike. We had to change our plans slightly and didn’t get chance to try the softer tyre because we had to keep working on the race setting. In the end the feeling was great and we have done a good job with the bike set-up today. The lap time isn’t amazing because we have been working all day on used rubber but I am not worried about that. Tomorrow we will try to set a fast lap in qualifying to make sure we are not starting from as far back as we have been in recent races. We need to find a little more grip but tomorrow we have some changes planned with the suspension that should finalise the set-up.”
23rd Juanfran Guevara 1.43.667 (33 laps):
“We had a few problems with the front end in the fast corners during the second session. The bike is going light on the front and folding, I had a few scares and so we had to try and make some changes to solve it. We felt some improvements but we still have work to do to completely fix the issue. We spent a lot of time on it this afternoon, which meant we didn’t get to set a fast lap and that’s why the gap to the top is so big.”
Source: Aspar Media
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