As usual Phillip Island lived up to the mixed weather forecasts today and the skies threw a bit of everything at the circuit although both free practice sessions for the MotoGP class took place in dry conditions. Both Team San Carlo Honda Gresini riders like the track and Alvaro Bautista and Michele Pirro were satisfied with their efforts today.
Alvaro Bautista (6th 1’31.616)
“We worked intensively today on the base setting of the bike but ran into a problem this morning with the rear end moving around a lot in corner exit, which meant I couldn't use the full range of power because the bike was too nervous. We changed a few things in the afternoon to try and solve this issue but if anything we made it worse so we had to go back a step. We have a lot of work to do with the electronics and suspension but as far as the base is concerned we think we have the right setting to work from.”
Michele Pirro (14th 1’ 34” 002)
“I went rodeo riding this morning but managed to hang on to it until I hit the wet grass and crashed. It was a shame because it cost us a lot of track time and considering how much work we had to do in the afternoon it wasn't a bad session for us. The bike is still moving around too much but I think we can make some improvements tomorrow and close the gap even further to the top CRTs.”
Fausto Gresini
“Not bad. We still have work to do with Alvaro but we have a base setting that gives us optimism for tomorrow. Apart from Stoner everybody else is close together and Alvaro didn't use a new tyre for the whole session. Overall we are confident about tomorrow and especially Sunday. Michele also did a good job. Considering the time he lost this morning the lap time was good and he has a setting he can work from tomorrow.”
San Carlo Honda Gresini Press Release
