Alvaro Bautista's first day at the stunning new MotoGP circuit in Austin, Texas, went better than expected, the Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini learning the track quickly and reducing the gap to the riders who came and tested here last month. There is still a long way to go and improvements to be made but the signs are positive after just two sessions on track. Bryan Staring faced the double challenge of learning the circuit layout whilst still adapting to the rigours of MotoGP, the Australian rookie responding well as always to the team's input.
Alvaro Bautista (8th 2’ 07” 256 )
“We spent today almost entirely on learning the track. There wasn't much grip and it was so difficult to keep the bike upright it was like riding in the wet.In the afternoon the conditions improved and the lap times dropped notably. The track is special, technical with blind corners and a lot of direction changes that make it difficult because if you get one corner wrong it is very hard to recover. I still need to find some references and we need to work on the setting because this track is quite different to the others. Obviously the riders who have been here to Austin before are in a better position than us but we're not far off them. We have improved our pace from the morning to the afternoon and that gives me optimism for tomorrow.”
Bryan Staring (22nd 2’ 12” 462)
“Once again everything is new to me and this track in particular is making life even harder for us. It is a difficult track to learn and this morning we had some major grip issues that prevented me from getting comfortable. I had a long chat with the team after the session which has been really helpful and I am convinced we can make big progress tomorrow. ”
Fausto Gresini
“I am happy with that for a first day and the gap to the guys at the top, other than Marquez and Pedrosa, is not that big. The top five have been here in Austin before so this is a positive result. Alvaro's pace is good so I am sure we can do a good job. Everything is new for Bryan and he struggled today. He needs time but it will come. We have taken big steps with our CRT package and as soon as Bryan gets to grips with the pace in MotoGP he will move up the timesheets. ”
Fun&Go Honda Gresini Press Release
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