GONZALEZ FOURTH IN AUSTRALIAN FRIDAY, EIGHTH PLACE FOR ARENAS
The opening day of action for the Gresini Racing Moto2 team was heavily affected by the weather: a first session of free practice under the rain, which the two riders used to find the best feeling in the wet – a condition that could return tomorrow in qualifying as well as come race day.
Then, it was time for Practice1: Gonzalez and Arenas first took to the track with rain tyres to continue the morning’s work programme, but then the track started to dry out: following a quick tyre change, they gradually found the feeling and the limit around the spectacular Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Gonzalez logged a 1’33.155secs time during lap 19, which resulted in a fourth position at the end of the day. Arenas was eighth quickest with a time of 1’33.555secs. There is still margin for improvement, but the current, albeit provisional, Q2 direct seed bodes well for tomorrow’s action, as the two Gresini standard bearers are aiming at a spot on the front rows of the grid.
4th – MANUEL GONZALEZ #18 (1’33.155)
“It was a very positive first day for us: we managed to lap in the wet this morning as we improved lap after lap, and then in the dry, and we got more comfortable with the bike and the track little by little. We never know what conditions we may encounter so it’s positive that we were able to gather some experience in both conditions. I’m happy with this opening day, now we need to work in order to improve some more ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying.”
8th – ALBERT ARENAS #75 (1’33.555)
“We lapped in every type of condition today: luckily we were able to complete some laps on the dry towards the end of Practice1, which allowed us to understand better what we need to work on. We’re aiming at being quicker tomorrow and do a good job in qualifying: the track should be dry in both qualifying and the race, so we’ll try to make the most of our Saturday to be on track as much as we can, with the goal to be near the front of the grid and be ready for Sunday.”
