M2: Aragon GP: Gresini Friday report

An extra free practice session was worked into the schedule for the Grand Prix of Aragon and it proved to be well time as the Moto2 riders spent much of the afternoon restricted to their pits because of rain. Toni Elias picked up from a test here ...

An extra free practice session was worked into the schedule for the Grand Prix of Aragon and it proved to be well time as the Moto2 riders spent much of the afternoon restricted to their pits because of rain. Toni Elias picked up from a test here following the Grand Prix of Catalunya two months ago and found a good feeling with his bike, setting the ninth fastest lap overall with his time from the morning's completely dry first session. Michele Pirro, who is standing in for the injured Vladimir Ivanov, got his first taste of the Spanish circuit today.

Toni Elias ( 9th 1' 56" 704) "It was a strange day with the extra session but our work will be concentrated into tomorrow's practice sessions and Sunday's race. The lap time doesn't mean much because my best this morning was on a tyre with a lot of laps on it and in the afternoon the rain came just at the moment we were about to push for a faster lap. I am confident for tomorrow and I hope the weather allows us to work in peace."

Michele Pirro (30th 1' 58" 326) "It's a shame about the rain because we had a lot of work to do. This morning I spent the time getting to know the track and and we were going to spend the afternoon on the set-up of the bike. Now we have to sit down and work from the data we were able to gather and hope that the weather is on our side tomorrow. It was a nice experience and I want to make the most of it."

Fausto Gresini "It is a new and very nice track, which were able to enjoy in perfect conditions this morning before the afternoon rain set our work back a lot. Luckily we have tested here so we feel we'll be ready for tomorrow and Sunday. We have Michele Pirro with us for this one and I feel sorry for him because he needed the time to get used to a completely new bike and circuit. However, I am pleased to be able to offer and Italian rider the chance to ride a Moto2 bike."