Aleix Espargaro makes the top ten on day one at Montmelo

The Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona welcomed the MotoGP teams and riders to the scorching Spanish summer today, signalling day intense work on set-up and tyre choice as the sixth round of the season got underway. Jorge Lorenzo dominated the opening free practice session this morning and was on course to do so again in the afternoon until Valentino Rossi produced a fast lap at the end of the day to leave himself on top of the timesheets overnight by just 0.049 seconds.

Aleix Espargaró kicked off his home Grand Prix in the kind of fine form that is typical of him this season, the Barcelona boy dominating the CRT field in both sessions. He was tenth fastest overall in each and finished the day less than a second shy of Rossi’s benchmark, thanks largely to his new front suspension package.

10th Aleix Espargaró 1.43.204 (33 laps):
“I struggled right to the end of the session to get my pace together because the track was quite slippery and I couldn’t find amy grip. To be honest I left it a little too late to come in and change bikes to the one with the new front forks but when I did I knocked half a second off within the first lap. Unfortunately we only had time for one lap but it was on used tyres so that means the new suspension is a big step forward and I am really happy with it. Anything new we can get to help us improve is always welcome! To finish inside a second of the fastest guy after testing so many things is a massive achievement. We’ll keep working in the same way tomorrow, when as well as the new suspension we’ll also have a new engine to try.”

Source: Aspar Media