Cautious & Improving Simon Sixth On Day One At Indianapolis

It was a day of surprises for the Moto2 class at Indianapolis, firstly with the state of the track and secondly with the riders who were able to adapt to it the quickest – Scott Redding in the morning and Simone Corsi in the afternoon. MAPFRE Aspar rider Julián Simón also raised a few eyebrows, topping the time sheets for much of the second session despite his recent run of crashes and injuries. The championship favourites closed in on the top positions towards the end of the day and will no doubt look to exert their dominance tomorrow.

Simón, who is still recovering from a broken leg, took care to get to grips with the newly relaid track today as his team-mate Jordi Torres also exercised caution on his first visit to the legendary venue. Julián gradually picked up his pace in the afternoon as more rubber was laid on the track and after dominating for long spells he ended up an impressive sixth overall, just three tenths off the fastest time of the day. Jordi did not make the progress he had hoped for around this technical and tricky track, although he knows he has the potential and the means to drastically improve on 36th position tomorrow.

6th Julián Simón 1.46.590 (30 laps):
“I took it very easy this morning because the track was in a bad state – one of the worst I have ridden on at World Championship level. It was so slippery it felt like it was wet so I just took it steady out there. I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike either so we changed the set-up for the afternoon and lengthened the rear end in order to find more grip, which happened immediately. The track had improved a lot by then and I was able to step up the pace. I think we are in good shape to fight for a top grid position. Today I focused on getting into my rhythm and we have made a good start, although we have to stay calm tomorrow because I am still not in perfect shape and I don’t want to hurt myself again.”

36th Jordi Torres 1.49.286 (38 laps):
“People were telling me the track was slippery this morning so I took great care and tried to get to know the layout. In the afternoon the track was better but I struggled to make progress and maybe I was being too careful because I don’t want to bring the bike back in bits. By the time I started to feel confident the session was over but I am sure we can improve a lot tomorrow. The bike is working perfectly and so is the team so we have a lot to look forward to.”

Source: Aspar Media