Though the Spanish sunshine gave a false impression of a late summer day, Yamaha rider Maverick Viรฑales headed out in FP1 in chilly conditions, curious to find out what the grip level would be like while the track temperature only measured 12ยบC.
He made a cautious start, but gradually found confidence, all the while improving his time. Ultimately, he dropped under the 1โ32s mark on his third run, clocking a 1โ31.750s best lap, for sixth place, 0.705s from the front.
The afternoon saw more of the same from the local hero.
As the temperature went up, he again spent most of the session working on the balance of his YZR-M1, whilst trying a couple of set-up changes during the second 45-minute session.
Following his usual routine, he saved the best for his last outing.
He was able to improve to a 1'31.624s lap for 11th place, 0.984s from the top of the FP2 ranking, and completed the day in 12th position in the combined times.
โIt was a challenging day. We were struggling on the brakes, and trying to make the bike turn in the corners was difficult. Itโs hard to understand what the situation is, I just try to ride the bike in the best way I can,โ he said. โThis was the result and we will try to improve. I think we have the level to reach the top-5. Letโs see tomorrow, so far it seems to be quite a difficult weekend.โ
