Lorenzo sets new circuit lap record to top Misano MotoGP Friday practice

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo rode the quickest ever lap around the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to lead a closely contested opening day of practice at the San Marino and Rimini Grand Prix.
 
In this afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session, Lorenzo set a 1’32.871 to finish the day fastest ahead of the Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez (1’32.924) and Dani Pedrosa (1’33.258) who were second and third quickest respectively. Overall, the combination of the new Misano asphalt and 2015-specification Bridgestone MotoGP tires resulted in some extremely quick lap times, with the top 12 riders on the timesheets today able to set times quicker than the existing Misano Circuit Record Lap time of 1’32.915.
 
Conditions at Misano today were almost perfect, with clear skies and warm temperatures creating the ideal environment for the riders to test numerous tire combinations. All six slick tire options in the allocation for Misano were used today, as riders adapted to the new high-grip surface. The medium compound front slick was the preferred option today due to its good combination of cornering and braking performance, although the hard compound front slick was also used extensively in FP2 with promising results. For the rear slick, initial indications are that all three options; the soft, medium and hard compound are viable race options, depending on the specification of the machine using them, and race simulations in tomorrow’s FP4 session will enable riders to hone in on their preferred rear tire for the race.
 
Warmer temperatures are forecast for tomorrow, with track temperatures of around 50°C a possibility tomorrow afternoon. The next MotoGP session is FP3 which starts at 0955 local time (GMT+2).
 
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire Development Department
“We managed to acquire some data on tire performance on the new Misano asphalt during private testing at this circuit, but today was our first chance to see how our 2015 specification tires are performing on this new high-grip surface for all the riders. Our first impressions are quite positive as lap times were quicker like we anticipated, but the rate of abrasion was well within the acceptable range and all of the slick options in our allocation received good feedback from the riders. We will probably have higher track temperatures tomorrow, so there will need to be more evaluation work from the riders with our different tire compounds ahead of the race, but it was a constructive first day here at Misano.”