Simon 5th fastest on first day at Brno

The Moto2 riders were back on track following a three-week summer break today as the ninth round of the season got underway at Brno. The Czech Republic Grand Prix boasts 41 years of proud history and the first ever visit of the Moto2 class here is another landmark. Despite a brief shower towards the end of MotoGP practice this afternoon the intermediate category riders were able to take to the track in dry conditions and the close racing that has defined this series so far continued with the top twenty riders separated by a little over a second.

The Mapfre Aspar team’s two riders were amongst them, with Julián Simón and Mike Di Meglio both making a strong start to the session. The pair set their best lap times at the midway stage, with the Spaniard unable to improve after switching to a harder tyre and the Frenchman suffering from a clutch problem in the latter stages. Despite the setbacks they lie fifth and fifteenth on the time sheets overnight and remain confident of improvements tomorrow.

5th Julián Simón 2.05.032 (20 laps): “I am really happy to be back at a race circuit after the summer break. I sometimes struggle with Brno but today I felt comfortable. It’s not really a track that suits my riding style but I do enjoy riding here nevertheless. The bike was working well at the start of the session but as time went on we got worse. We tried a harder tyre but it wasn’t the right choice because the bike started to slide a lot and I wasn’t able to improve my lap time. Even so I’m happy and I think we can be fighting for the front row tomorrow and be up at the front on Sunday. The forecast is for rain but hopefully they’re wrong and we get the chance to do some more work in the dry.”

Source: Mapfre Aspar Team