As always the weather was the protagonist as the 15th round of the MotoGP World Championship got underway at the Sepang International Circuit today, with a 76% humidity level that turned into persistent rain during the break between the day’s two free practice sessions.
The typical Malaysian heat, however, allowed FP2 to go ahead in dry conditions as the asphalt reached 39° C degrees (102.2° F) . Andrea Iannone concluded this first day of the challenging Malaysian Grand Prix in 12th position and with a best time of 2’02.819, over seven tenths of a second faster than his FP1 mark.
After Yonny Hernandez spent the morning session familiarizing himself with the circuit and the Desmosedici GP13 (which is still new to the Colombian, who is riding in substitution for Texan Ben Spies), he ended the day with a best time of 2.03.780. The time was over a second faster than his best from FP1, and it put him in 15th position in the provisional standings.
There are still some small changes to be made to the bike by the Ignite Pramac Racing Team technicians in hopes of increasing Yonny’s confidence for qualifying tomorrow.
Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
“We knew that this track was hard for us, we are suffering from the lack of grip and I’m also struggling under braking. The bike moves around too much at the rear and when I try to enter the turn it slides a lot, it loses grip, and I almost go in sideways. From an analysis of my lap, I can see I lose a lot in the first and last turn, while in T2 and T3 we go much better. For sure it’s not enough and now we’ll see how can we improve for tomorrow. The heat does not help either, and it’s more difficult than usual, but it’s not a problem.”
Yonny Hernandez – Ignite Pramac Racing Team
“Today was harder than at Aragon. It required more effort to manage the quick changes of direction, and I struggled to get used to braking. Tomorrow we can definitely improve because we’re thinking about a small change to the fork, which should help me. I'm sure I’ll slowly get used to the bike, as even today the feeling improved and I feel more comfortable. I need to do some more laps on this track, which I don’t really know well, and which isn’t one of the easiest. It’s also very hot, but I'm fine”
Yonny Hernandez – Ignite Pramac Racing Team
“Today was harder than at Aragon. It required more effort to manage the quick changes of direction, and I struggled to get used to braking. Tomorrow we can definitely improve because we’re thinking about a small change to the fork, which should help me. I'm sure I’ll slowly get used to the bike, as even today the feeling improved and I feel more comfortable. I need to do some more laps on this track, which I don’t really know well, and which isn’t one of the easiest. It’s also very hot, but I'm fine”
Pramac Racing Press Release
