Lorenzo leads the way in Jerez

Jorge Lorenzo led the way after the opening day of practice in Jerez with the Spaniard fastest in both practice sessions. The conditions were very different from the morning to the afternoon with the track temperature rising continuously through the day and causing the track surface to get greasy and slippery.

Lorenzo though was peerless throughout and keen to lay down a marker to the field having been written off in some quarters after a lacklustre Argentine weekend.

“This morning I was fast from the beginning, this afternoon we struggle a little bit more,” said Lorenzo. “But I think at this track we improve especially the entry of the corners. But let’s see what happens at 2 o clock on Sunday. It’s still too soon to say. The gearbox helped, also the engine braking was working very well, the corner entry was good.”

Aleix Espargaro was second fastest with the Suzuki squad having made huge progress in solving the chatter problems that have plauged them this year. The team has brought new parts to Spain, team insiders revealed to MCN that they were related to the suspension but refused to be drawn any further. 

“I’m quite happy with the performance in the first day at Jerez,” said Espargaro. “This morning we were fast, but I felt not really good with the bike, the bike was not turning and there was definitely a bad feeling. In the afternoon I felt much better. The bike is turning good, we did a really good pace.”

Marc Marquez showed few ill effects of his fractured finger to set the third fastest time having refused to take any painkillers before practice. The Honda rider may struggle for endurance in Sunday’s race but speed doesn’t look like being an issue.

Cal Crutchlow was the top Brit and inside the top ten but with the huge variance in track temperatures he was not too worried about his times today. “There’s a big difference between the morning and afternoon and that’s why we’re not too worried at the moment. It’s hot out there, the track temperature is hot. It’s not bad on the bike but it’s so difficult round here, especially with the Honda.“

Scott Redding was twelfth with Eugene Laverty once again impressing on the Aspar Honda to wind up 15th fastest

“Today was my best Friday and it’s the first time that I’ve been in the right position on a Friday,” said Laverty. “The last couple of rounds I had to learn the track on the Friday and on Saturday I’d pop up but I’m already there on day one so that’s positive. I’m not quite where I want to be but it’s a good start and 14th or 15th is the right area.”