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MotoGP 2012 Mugello: Yamaha FP report

July 14, 2012

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo proved to be the man to beat today, setting the fastest times in both morning and afternoon practice for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Italy at the Mugello circuit. Last year’s race winner was clearly comfortable from the off, setting an impressive record beating 1’48.076 lap and remaining unchallenged at the top of the timesheets.

Fellow Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies spent the day working through several set up options in the hunt for the perfect Mugello solution. A small crash in the morning session reduced his time on track but he was unhurt and back out for the afternoon session. Spies wrapped up day one in seventh but just 0.464 seconds from Lorenzo in first.

Jorge Lorenzo

Position : 1st Time: 1’48.076 Laps: 22

“I’m really happy because from the beginning we’ve been quite fast. We haven’t had to make many changes to the bike, the feeling is great with the track and it’s working well. I feel good with the suspension, throttle and braking. Everything seems quite clear, we have to work on some small details but we’ve made an excellent beginning.”

Ben Spies

Position : 7th Time: 1’48.540 Laps: 24

“It wasn’t a bad day, nice and hot. The first session was ok, then the second session we tried a couple of different bike settings and wasted a bit of the time finding something that didn’t work. We went back to the setting we know that works and had it going pretty well by the time the tyres were pretty used. I’m happy we were doing the times we were with race distance on the tyres and we know we can make the bike better for tomorrow. We need to be a bit closer to the front but the bike’s working well so we just need to make some fine adjustments.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager

“A very fast practice day. We made the requested long run for the Bridgestone tyre and it seems to be under control. I think so far we are the only one who did it so we have space to work tomorrow. Maybe not to get faster but definitely keep a rhythm and push a little more in qualifying.”

Massimo Meregalli – Team Director

“It’s been a good start today. Unfortunately this morning we had a little crash which compromised the second part of the first practice. Ben’s base set up is good, we tried a long run to check tyre life and I think everything is on the same page. All in all a positive first day.”