The first day of free practice at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit came to an end this afternoon with the two Ducati Team riders, Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone, placed respectively in tenth and fifteenth position.
The dirty, slippery track, together with much higher temperatures than last year, created all sorts of difficulties for the MotoGP riders, who for the moment have been lapping considerably slower than the times they achieved in 2015.
In the morning’s FP1 session Dovizioso was the fastest rider out there, while Iannone was classified eighteenth, the Italian complaining of a lack of grip.
In the early afternoon FP2 run, both Ducati men made a major improvement in their lap times, but they were still concerned about the lack of grip and were unable to finish the first day in amongst the top riders.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’42.635 (10th)
“This afternoon we made a lot of important tests to try and see what was the right direction and get used to the conditions we have encountered here. The track is really dirty, the front tyre doesn’t work well and everyone is finding it very difficult to ride. There’s no grip, the front end is continuously closing in on me, and in the long corners it’s difficult to get on the gas. In any case I don’t think that my position today respects the real situation, even though I know we’ve still got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’42.953 (15th)
“For sure it’s been a tough day for me today, because I’m really struggling and for the moment I don’t have much confidence in the front: the track is really greasy and as a result I can’t push hard and find a good pace. I think that with a few changes tomorrow we can make a big step forward, because you just need to have a bit more confidence and fix a few things in the balance of the bike. I’m not too concerned about it however because I know we have the potential to do a good job here.”
