Mixed day one for Aspar riders Jordi Torres & Nico Terol at Austin

Moto2 was once again the tightest category in the World Championship, on day one of the GP of the Americas. The gap between riders was tiny when compared to MotoGp and Moto3, indicating a closely matched weekend for the intermediate class. Johann Zarco topped the timesheets in both practice sessions.

At the start of each runout, Takaaki Nakagami headed the timesheets, but Dominique Aegerter and Esteve Rabat also showed that they are competitive.
It was Zarco who would pip all of them at the end of both sessions, however. Times on Friday were just under circuit record pace, and close to last year’s pole time. The weekend promises to be an interesting one.

Jordi Torres had a positive day after comprehensive preparation for the Circuit of the Americas. The MAPFRE Aspar rider employed a cautious approach to making small changes, which eventually paid off. His main improvements came with braking and cornering.

He also benefited from adjustments to his bike’s aerodynamics, allowing him to become the fourth quickest in terms of top speed -272.4 km/h.
The Spaniard finished fourteenth and hopes to take further steps forward tomorrow to get amongst the frontrunners.

Teammate Nico Terol did not have his day go as planned, experiencing difficulties at a track where he won his first Moto2 Grand Prix. He found things tough and could not get an optimal setup for the track, placing 23rd.

14th Jordi Torres 2.11.979 (32 laps):
“I prepared well before coming to this circuit, looking at video, telemetry and various data, because the sectors with the linked corners here are very tricky. It worked, because in the first session we were up at the front and the feeling was optimal, which helped us to see that we had the pace. In the afternoon we made a couple of changes to better our braking in a straight line, getting the bike to go with me on the corners. Our approach was to make small changes today and take short but very firm steps forward. We did it because the feeling was positive. We just lacked that final push at the end of the session to shave another tenth off and place higher up. We are satisfied with our work today. We also managed to improve our top speed, thanks to some changes to the aerodynamics –something that normally bothers me at tracks with long straights.”

23rd Nico Terol 2.12.956 (30 laps):
“This first day was difficult for us. I did not expect to find it so hard to feel comfortable on the bike. Today we did a lot of testing out, but I never had a good feeling when riding. As I did not enjoy the first session, we went back to the base setup from the last Grand Prix for the second session and it helped us to improve a little. The issue is that I can’t turn and open enough gas when exiting corners. I hate to start like this, but we’re not going to give up and tomorrow we will work to reverse this situation. This circuit last year suited me a lot, and I am convinced that through hard work we will be competitive this time.”

Source: Aspar Media