A good start in Jerez de la Frontera for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team: Michael Rinaldi closes both sessions in second position while Scott Redding improves considerably in the afternoon to finish the day fifth in the combined standings.
- FP1
P2 – After working with his team on the setup of the Ducati Panigale V4R, Michael Rinaldi finds an excellent feeling in the final run and finishes with the second fastest time.
P8 – Scott Redding is the rider who completes the most laps (21) during the session without changing his rear tyre. For this reason the eighth fastest time is not particularly indicative.
- FP1 Results
P1 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’40.074
P2 – M. Rinaldi (aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.086
P3 – J. Rea (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.337
P4 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) + 0.439
P5 – L. Haslam (Honda) + 0.675
P8 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) + 0.764
- FP2
P2 – As in this morning session, Michael Rinaldi is also very quick on the race pace and sets the second fastest time on the soft tyre, showing that he still has room for improvement ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session.
P4 – Scott Redding works convincingly on the race pace and manages to lower his morning time by almost half a second without attempting any time attacks.
Combined Standings
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’39.671
P2 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.399
P3 – T. Razgatlioglu (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.403
P4 – L. Haslam (Honda) +0.657
P5 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.671
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“It was a positive day in which we worked well. Let’s say that the feeling with the bike is 95% and we’ll try to find the remaining 5% tomorrow morning to be faster and more comfortable. Finishing second on Friday always gives us some confidence. I think that fighting for the podium is within our reach but only if we continue to work with great intensity”.
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“All in all I can’t be unhappy with what we did today. The main problem is that I thought I was fast but I wasn’t fast in terms of the lap time. It’s not long before we find the right feeling and I’m sure we can take another step forward tomorrow in FP3.”
