MotoGP
Bridgestone Friday Report
Spanish GP
Edited: Apr 2, 2011, 1:57 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Tyre choice on Sunday could be more affected by the weather conditions with the current forecasts.
Masao Azuma
Stoner finishes day one fastest overall, already under Jerez lap record
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium
It was once again a Repsol Honda Team one-two after the first day of running for the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend with Casey Stoner setting the fastest combined time from the two practice sessions ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
In the morning session, Stoner and Pedrosa were the only two riders to lap faster than the existing lap record, set by Pedrosa in 2010, and after only 45 minutes on track the pair were just 0.3seconds from last year’s pole time. In the cooler morning session, almost all riders tried both the softer and harder option slicks but in the afternoon, as the temperature rose, it was the harder option slicks that were preferred.
Track conditions were good today, although a strong wind hit the region in the afternoon which was a factor in making the afternoon laptimes a little slower.
Third fastest for the Ducati Team was a resurgent Valentino Rossi ahead of fellow countryman Marco Simoncelli of San Carlo Honda Gresini, with Factory Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in fifth. The top seven riders all set their fastest lap of the day in the morning session, but Randy de Puniet and Nicky Hayden, who were eighth and ninth respectively, went faster during free practice two.
The final free practice session gets underway at 10:10hrs local time tomorrow, Saturday 2 April, before an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Whilst conditions today were fine and warm, the weather is expected to deteriorate over the weekend.
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport
“Track conditions were good today, especially this morning, and the times at the front were already very fast. Riders got the chance to try both the softer and harder option front and rear slicks today in assessment for the race, although tyre choice on Sunday could be more affected by the weather conditions with the current forecasts. The times were a little slower this afternoon because the wind got considerably stronger, but throughout today we have seen that consistency and durability are good.
“This morning the air was warm but the track was still quite cool, yet we could see that the harder option slicks were working well despite the temperature and the laptimes were very fast. Many riders tried both specs in the morning and performance of each was good. As the track temperature rose by the afternoon, almost all riders chose the harder specs for FP2. I can also say that braking stability of both front tyre specs is adequate, so in general I am happy with tyre performance here today.”
-source: bridgestone
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Repsol Honda Friday Report
Next article Suzuki Friday Report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Randy de Puniet
Former LCR MotoGP rider joins team in MotoE
MotoE
MotoE
Former LCR MotoGP rider joins team in MotoE
De Puniet becomes KTM tester for rest of 2018
MotoGP
MotoGP
Austrian GP
De Puniet becomes KTM tester for rest of 2018
KTM's MotoGP bike completes Jerez test
MotoGP
MotoGP
KTM's MotoGP bike completes Jerez test
More from
Ducati Team
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
7 h
Jorge Lorenzo describes Marc Marquez as “the Ayrton Senna of motorcycling”
Francesco Bagnaia undergoes successful surgery on double foot fracture
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
13 h
Francesco Bagnaia undergoes successful surgery on double foot fracture
Latest news
Frankie Muniz transported to hospital after Daytona practice crash
General
Misc General 1 h
Frankie Muniz transported to hospital after Daytona practice crash
Ford unveils new Mustang body for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h
Ford unveils new Mustang body for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 4 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 5 h
Kyle Larson admits he didn't think Cup title was possible in NASCAR champion's speech
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe