IN THE FIRST TWO SESSIONS HASLAM TAKES A RESPECTABLE FIFTH TIME WITH HIS RSV4 RF, LAPPING A LOT WITH A USED TYRE
JORDI TORRES TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE TO FAMILIARISE HIMSELF WITH A TRACK THAT IS NEW FOR HIM
Imola, 8 May 2015 – With the Imola track warmed by a summer sun and the passion of the fans who came out to watch from the beginning on the banks of the Santerno, Team Aprilia Racing – Red Devils began their weekend at Imola. This is a decidedly demanding historic track and a favourite among the riders because of its “old style” character.
Precisely because of its unique layout, it takes some fine tuning to set up the technical, chassis and electronic management aspects. These are the parameters that Leon Haslam, lying second in the overall championship standings astride his Aprilia RSV4, focused on during today’s sessions. During the morning practice session the Brit lapped quite a lot without using a “fresh” tyre, but beginning to work straight away on race strategy. He also tested various different solutions in the afternoon when, despite putting in less laps, Leon and his team gathered some fundamental data on which to base tomorrow’s strategy. In light of the type of work done today, the fifth time in the combined standings seems promising for another weekend as protagonists for the Haslam-Aprilia duo.
Leon Haslam: “This morning we had a good session, lapping a lot on the same tyre. In the afternoon we lapped less but we were able to test a lot of solutions anyway. I think that with a night at our disposal to analyse the data we collected today we’ll be able to identify the right direction to go tomorrow. I have a feeling we aren’t too far off, but at the same time I think there is still a lot of room for improvement for our RSV4 RF here at Imola.”
The goals were different in the number 81 garage for Jordi Torres. The Spanish rookie set foot on the asphalt at Imola for the first time today, struggling a bit to interpret one of the most complicated circuits on the calendar. So it’s only logical to expect some irrelevant times on this first day which Jordi used to gain confidence with his RSV4 RF and on the track before asking for any substantial changes from his mechanics. The Spanish rider did not point out any particularly critical points, but rather a simple lack of familiarity and experience that require a calm approach to the first part of the weekend.
Jordi Torres: “This is a new track for me, difficult and strange in various aspects. I almost feel like I’m in a pipe: up, down, then you have to slow down a lot to take on a chicane, I struggled a bit to memorise it. In any case it’s also true that between FP1 and FP2 we improved by more than a second, but there is definitely plenty of room to get better. There are some areas where I’m struggling, but I think it is just a general difficulty. We need to be precise, let the bike race and stay calm. We’ll wait for tomorrow. Every time I go out on the track I feel like I’ve learned something new and I don’t want to rule out any result.”
