De Puniet fastest CRT rider in opening practice sessions

With the track slippery, taking unnecessary risks was not an option with so much to do. Randy De Puniet struggled to find grip at the British track, but was nonetheless the fastest CRT rider on Friday and feels that there is plenty of potential for improvement tomorrow and ahead of Sunday's race. He finished twelfth on the combined timesheet from the first two practice sessions.

Aleix Espargaró enjoyed the wet morning session. He was able to find a clear direction on his second bike and placed sixteenth, eagerly awaiting Saturday's further practice sessions.

Randy de Puniet

"Maybe it is because it is the first day and because it rained this morning, but the grip levels weren't as good as we expected and we will have to work on this tomorrow. I am happy with this opening day, I feel positive and, although I haven't made any great leap forward over the course of the day, we have developed a few smaller things. This was just the start and I am convinced that we can improve by at least a second tomorrow. The weather is very unstable here, so we have to be very sensitive in setting up the bike to be ready for whatever conditions the race will bring. We gathered a lot of data today and I hope that tomorrow is the same."

Aleix Espargaró

"We rode in the rain this morning and tried out a lot of things, and I felt comfortable whilst we continued to improve. That was my best wet session for a long time. The afternoon was a little stranger, as we completed some dry laps and then had spots of rain to contend with and a strong wind, which, although it helped to dry the track, it also bothered us a bit during the session. We still have a second day of practice in which to try things out. It looks as if it will rain, so I only hope that it does so consistently, because patchy conditions make it harder to work."

Press release courtesy of Power Electronics Aspar.