Wind and rain hinder second day progress at Jerez
As predicted by the local weather forecasts the paddock awoke
to rainy conditions for the second day of the MotoGP Official
Test at Jerez today.
It wasn’t the ideal scenario for the engineers and
riders but it did give them a vital opportunity to try out
wet settings and tyres, continuing with the job of gathering
as much information as possible, which began yesterday.
For Alex de Angelis this was his debut in wet conditions
on a MotoGP bike and the San Marino rider used the first part
of the day to gather confidence with a bigger and more powerful
bike than what he is used to.
At 1400h the free practice session was interrupted by the
annual time trial, screened live on television, and the first
official practice session of the season for the Team San Carlo
Honda Gresini riders with their new bikes.
A further free practice was scheduled for late in the afternoon
but it was eventually cancelled due to the adverse weather
conditions.
Shinja Nakano (16 laps, 1.51.594): “The
wet session gave us the chance to test some different sets
of tyres, some soft and some medium, and get ready for the
time challenge in the afternoon. When the time came to attack
and try to post a fast time we had a good pace but the track
started to dry. Just at the decisive moment I ran into some
traffic and if it wasn’t for that I could have done
better than sixth place. I’m happy though because this
new bike is a big improvement.”
Alex de Angelis (13 laps, 1.52.463): “I’m
happy because it was important for me to get some laps under
my belt in the wet – it could have been really difficult
for me turning up at the first race without any experience
in the rain. Today’s test gave us the chance to gather
some telemetric data that can help us set the bike up to my
riding style in the wet. So all in all it’s been a positive
day, I’m feeling better on the bike every day and I’m
improving my feeling with the team.”
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