Sunshine at Jerez this morning welcomed the Moto3 riders on track for the first day of the Spanish GP. Warm temperatures were present throughout the day, in which the Moto3 riders were back at the scene of preseason testing in Spain. With so much data gathered, things were very close in the opening session. In the afternoon, two riders were ahead of the rest by six-tenths of a second, although they themselves were separated by just 0.025. Jonas Folger was the fastest rider of the day, ahead of Alex Rins. The pace was slightly lower than in testing (where the quickest lap was a low 1’46) and the day was affected by cuts to the timing and data screens due to power failure at the circuit.
MAPFRE Aspar rider Jonas Folger’s hard work over the winter shone through on Friday. Thanks to data collected at the most recent Moto3 test in Jerez, the German was clear about the task at hand today. He ended the morning session with the second fastest time. Findings from the Austin race also helped him in the afternoon run, as he dominated the final part of the session and took the best lap of the day: 1’47.660. He did so on the eighth lap of his fifteen.
His teammate in the MAPFRE Aspar Team, Eric Granado, felt stronger in the morning session, losing touch slightly in Free Practice 2 as he tried out different tyre compounds. He concluded the day 22nd overall, with a 1’49.851 time two seconds off Folger.
1st Jonas Folger 1.47.660 (29 laps): “I love the feeling of topping the timesheets again, so I hope that tomorrow we can continue in the same way. On the Sunday in Austin we took a step forward with our setup. After thousands of trials, we found a good combination and it worked really well. Basically, the front end behaves well and that allows us to get the best line when going into a corner. With everything that we learnt in the United States, today we just needed to make a few small adjustments. There is no better way to start a Grand Prix than by dominating, so I am very satisfied. We have to be prudent, because it is only the first day, but we are laying good foundations. We’ve been close to the top in the last few races, although we haven’t quite been close enough to podium. I hope that this Sunday is different.”
22nd Eric Granado 1.49.851 (34 laps): “We did a good job this morning which allowed us to immediately feel good. In the afternoon we started off on used tyres and I found it harder to get on the pace. Maybe we went the wrong way with our suspension settings. We changed the tyres and my confidence improved, even though the rear was shaking me about too much. At the end of the session we put on a harder front. I haven’t started as well as I hoped, but the session was good for me in terms of trying out various compounds and finding a feel for things. I know that I can be higher up the order, so tomorrow we will work hard so that this happens. We want to leave the bike completely ready to race.”
Mapfre Aspar Moto3 Press Release
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