Bautista and Rinaldi third and fourth respectively on Friday at Jerez de la Frontera. Bulega dominates WorldSSP FP2
It was a very peculiar Friday at the Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera Angel Nieto. The rather low temperature, in fact, did not allow the circuit to dry out after the rain that fell on Thursday, thus forcing most of the SuperSport riders first and Superbike riders later to skip FP1.
The sun then came out mid-morning and the afternoon’s free practice went smoothly with Alvaro Bautista and Michael Rinaldi finishing the session in third and fourth position, 320 and 398 thousandths of a second respectively behind Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (Yamaha) best lap-time.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“We can say it was a good half-day’s work. Obviously with the track so damp we decided not to come out of the box for FP1. In the afternoon, however, the conditions were better and despite a small crash without any consequences, the feeling was good. I had fun and that’s the goal for tomorrow as well”.
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“It’s undeniable that it was a very weird day. Even in FP2, although the circuit had almost completely dried out, there were still some small damp areas that made it difficult to push at 100%. We did a good job anyway, even though we are still missing something in terms of rear grip. We will try to take another step forward tomorrow morning”.
- WorldSSP
Nicolò Bulega was also forced to skip FP1. The Italian took to the track for FP2 at the end of the morning, setting the fastest time of the day (1’43.171), more than six tenths ahead of Yari Montella (Ducati).
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11)
“We did a good job in FP2. The feeling with my Ducati Panigale V2 was very positive right from the start and it allowed me to ride hard despite having to skip FP1. I hope to continue to have these sensations throughout the weekend to finish a great season in the best possible way”.
