Juanfran Guevara has “strange and tricky” opening day at Sepang

With no time to rest after leaving Australia last Sunday, the Moto3 riders went out today at the Sepang circuit to start the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2014 season.

They were able to ride in the first two practice sessions for the Malaysian GP without being affected by tropical storms typical of the track. The stifling heat, as always, was inescapable.

Miller, who comes into the weekend highly motivated after winning last Sunday at home, was fastest in the morning. He was overtaken in the combined timesheet by Antonelli, Kornfeil and Marquez, after their strong showings in the final third of the afternoon run.

Antonelli set the fastest time of the first day (2.13.583), already closing in on the pole record set last season by Luis Salom.

After many consecutive rounds doing an incredible job, and fine-tuning a setup that gives him maximum confidence, today Juanfran Guevara suffered more than expected on the opening day of the Malaysian GP.

The MAPFRE Aspar rider had a slight loss of feeling on his bike in the tricky conditions at the Sepang circuit.

The track has extreme heat and bumps which can adversely affect a day’s work. Hampered by a lack of rear grip, the Spaniard worked to correct this issue and proceeded to improve his times in the afternoon, to conclude the day in twenty-second position.

22nd Juanfran Guevara 2.15.693 (27 laps):
“Today we experienced a strange day that was quite tricky. We came into this weekend off the back of many Grands Prix at which the bike responded perfectly and I felt very comfortable riding, however here I have lost some feeling. This circuit is unlike any other, the asphalt is very bumpy and the humidity is oppressive. In the first session I did not have a good feeling, so we made a couple of specific modifications -although we did not want to deviate much from the setup we have and that has served us so well in recent races. We also tried different tyres, but that has not stopped the rear from stepping out, which was our main problem today. Tomorrow our main goal is to get more grip on the rear however possible.”

Source: Aspar Media