Spain GP (Jerez)
First day / POSITIVE FIRST CONTACT WITH THE NEW CATEGORY
It was mission accomplished for the FORTUNA HONDA riders
today after their first official practices in the 250 cc category,
after having moved up from the 125cc class this season. Both
Barberá and Lorenzo both felt optimistic as regards
this weekend’s race, which kicks off a new season at
one of the calendar’s most impressive settings: Jerez.
Both the rider from Dos Aguas as well as the Majorcan were
able to get onto the provisional second row of the grid, thanks
to the times they set in Friday afternoon’s qualifying
session.
Although rain threatened to fall all day, the weather held
out for the competitors in the World Motorcycle Championships,
and they were able to continue in the same vein as they had
in the IRTA test here which took place at this very track
just two weeks ago.
Héctor Barberá had a constant rhythm going
both in the free practice in the morning, when he was fourth
quickest, and in the official practice in the afternoon. He
admitted that he used soft tyres to set his best times, but
the Spaniard also recognised that he was “still unable
to make the most of the compounds attributes.” Nevertheless,
the Valencian was very satisfied, given that he was able to
set some fast times, just 1.013 seconds off provisional pole-man,
Dani Pedrosa, showing a regularly quick pace, despite having
ridden alone for most of the session. “Barbie”
improved his time from the IRTA test by seven tenths, showing
real progression and proving he is adapting to the class in
every practice. “I want to be as high up as possible,
so I need to focus my work in one direction. I felt comfortable
and I think that the ease with which I set my times is one
of the main points.”
Jorge Lorenzo, meanwhile, never used qualifying tyres, just
race rubbers. The Majorcan was seventh in the morning, and
eighth in the afternoon, although he improved by half a second
between the two sessions. He was unable to better his time
from two weeks ago at this circuit, but he was not worried
by this at all, “It’s only the first day. Now
I only hope that it doesn’t rain on Sunday. Grid position
isn’t a priority at the moment. I know that if I had
used a softer tyre I could have qualified on the front row.
That’s not what is important at the moment though.”
Tomorrow, on Saturday, the FORTUNA HONDA team will be visited
by singer Nuria Fergó, who has just launched her third
record since her graduation from television’s Operación
Triunfo academy.
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