Both MotoGP practice sessions at Misano were a total waste – for the riders, because only 13 out 21 actually turned a wheel and recorded a lap time and not even in earnest, due to the treacherous track conditions and for the few fans that braved the blustery weather conditions hoping to see some action, and lap times aren’t even worth mentioning, even if Cardion AB’s Karel Abraham was the fastest rider of the day.
Trying to look at it from the half glass full point of view, some riders saved on engine mileage and tire wear because it was too damp for slicks and too dry to actually use the full wets until the final minutes of free practice 2.
With the weather forecast set to improve only for Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race, we could be set to see another boring session tomorrow morning and a flurry of activity only in qualifying as the teams try to find a proper set-up and no doubt we’ll hear about lack of track time somewhere down the line tomorrow.
Here’s what some of the riders had to say.
Jonathan Rea – 5th “It was a frustrating day with these weather conditions.
This morning the track was slightly wet and began to dry up towards the end of the session, but then it began to rain again, so we didn’t make it out at all.
Then in second free practice I went out straight away with the slick tyre to try and get some kind of feeling and I only managed three full laps as the tyre wasn’t getting up to temperature.
It was a pretty pointless exercise and I didn’t have any real feedback to give to the engineers.
It’s a strange situation when the temperature is so low that none of the top riders even go out on track.
We need to cross our fingers for some sunshine tomorrow so I can find a good rhythm on the bike and gain some confidence in the tyres in time for Qualifying”Danilo Petrucci – 6thIf we hadn’t the new Ioda-Suter and consequently a lot of things to test, and with these conditions it would have been useless to go on track.
We tried both the rain and slick tires and we got our first reference points but there is still a lot of work to do.
Ben Spies – 8th “We didn’t really get anything from the few laps we did, it’s been pretty much a waste of a day for everybody.
We can’t control the weather and unfortunately it was just too mixed conditions to do anything.
We did a couple of laps to check everything was ok just in case qualifying is like that so we have a feeling for it.
Other than that we just sat around, drank coffee and watched everybody!”Nicky Hayden – 9th “There’s not really much to report today! We did a lot of sitting around and waiting.
I went out a little bit in the damp this morning with a wet setup, just to check the bike.
I cruised a couple of laps and my hand wasn’t too bad in those conditions, but we were all obviously way off the pace.
I really won’t know more until I get out in the dry and see if it’s even going to be possible to race.
I don’t have much strength, and although it was fine for light braking, it could be a different story in the dry.
I wouldn’t mind more rain, but I wouldn’t want to go into the race with no dry track time.
Hopefully we’ll get some dry time tomorrow.
Mattia Pasini – 10th “There isn’t much to say about today: we didn’t complete many laps on the track and we didn’t manage to work on the bike.
The track wasn’t completely wet, neither dry, and with these conditions we can’t really make any decision for the weekend.
We can only wait for tomorrow and see what happens.
”Randy De Puniet: “Today was a boring day.
The track was in bad condition from the rain and we weren’t able to work.
I didn’t ride this morning and in the afternoon I put in just two laps.
I went out on track to set up my electronics, but it started raining and we weren’t able to draw any conclusions.
It was risky to ride with the track in that condition and we didn’t want to take risks on the opening day of the weekend.
I think that this was a lost day for every rider in MotoGP, so I hope that the situation improves tomorrow.
” Jorge Lorenzo (not classified) “I’m so tired, we did so many laps today and now I need a big rest and a massage! Seriously though, we didn’t even go out, it just wasn’t necessary for us, we wanted to save the engine life and also save some energy.
Tomorrow we will see what happens with the weather.
Today was not completely wet or completely dry so useless.
”Dani Pedrosa (not classified) “On days like this it’s almost impossible to get any feedback on the bike.
Actually, we saw in both sessions that the weather was changing so quickly that the riders going out with slick tyres had to come back in because it started raining or the other way around: going out with wets and destroying them in just a few laps as it was drying up again.
The weather forecast looks better for tomorrow and Sunday, so let’s hope we can take advantage of tomorrow morning’s session to find a good setting and have a good qualifying”.
Andrea Dovizioso (not classified)“Today was quite frustrating because the track conditions made it impossible to learn anything.
It is never good to lose a whole day on track but on a slow track like this it can be worse because it can take a while to find your rhythm.
I went out to try and gauge the conditions but the track was very slippery and it made no sense to push because you risk crashing, so I immediately came back to the pits.
Hopefully the weather will be better for the rest of the weekend and we can put on a good show for the fans, who unfortunately didn’t get to see much action today.
”Cal Crutchlow (not classified)“Today turned out to be quite strange because in both sessions I just sat in the garage waiting for the track conditions to improve.
It is disappointing for everybody concerned and I feel sorry for the fans here and the people watching on TV at home.
When the track is damp like that it is very hard to learn anything, so I didn’t even put my helmet on.
It looks like the weath er will improve for the rest of the weekend and I am looking forward to getting down to business tomorrow morning.
I gained a lot of confidence with my first podium in Brno recently and I can’t wait to be back on my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1.
”Stefan Bradl (not classified) “As everybody can see it was not a really productive day for us because the weather was very strange.
On these conditions we could not learn anything from the track because it was not dry and not wet so I just went out once for an investigation lap and that’s it”.
Valentino Rossi (not classified) “Today was completely useless, which is really a shame as it’s obviously always better to be able to ride.
This afternoon I tried to go out because we wanted to try a couple of things, including checking that everything was okay with the engine from the last race.
But as soon as I got on the track, the rain started again and it was time to stop for good.
There’s not much to say.
We’ll wait for tomorrow.
”Hector Barbera (not classified)“I’m a little bit disappointed by the loss of a day due to the challenging and unpredictable weather conditions.
I feel good and I’m eager to get back on the track after the six-week of absence.
Unfortunately, today the track was damp and cold and I preferred to wait in the box for a good change in the weather (that did not arrive), like more than half of the MotoGP riders.
Obviously I’m not happy about it, but we will look forward to tomorrow, hoping for a track that is either completely dry or completely wet.
”Colin Edwards (not classified) “As it turns out Paul and I probably should have gone to the party last night! Today was a big waste of time and obviously nobody went out hardly, we did a few laps this morning and a couple this afternoon.
The conditions are at a level to where its not wet, its not dry, its just dangerous.
There have been a few careers that I know ended in this kind of conditions.
Nobody wants to go out there and take unnecessary risks on a Friday; there is just no meening; only eleven riders went out total.
We didn’t really get any work done in these conditions, we just sat there and watched the screen.
” Aleix Espargaró (not classified)“We weren’t able to do anything today.
For the entire day it seemed as if the track would dry out and we could go out with slick tyres, but in the end it stayed damp and you couldn’t work.
When the track is neither dry nor wet it makes it difficult to try things, so we stayed in the garage talking with the mechanics in order to plan for tomorrow.
It looks as if things will improve for tomorrow, so hopefully we will be able to work normally then.
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