After his heavy crash in the first lap of last Sunday’s race at Silverstone Pol Espargaro was in impressive form on Friday as he got straight back into action as the fastest rider of the day.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 showed he means business as he finished second quickest behind Valentino Rossi in the morning session, before topping the afternoon practice with a 1’32.769 lap.
Pol Espargaro: “Today was an important day for us, for the team and for me, and it feels great. Also you can say it's a bit strange, because I'm not used to being up in these positions in MotoGP™. The bike is working really well and I feel comfortable in general with how it's going, and also with the Michelin tyres here at this race. I have so much rear grip and the front tyre lets me brake very late - which favors my riding style. This helped me to enjoy my time on the bike a lot, in both the morning and in the afternoon when it was warmer - conditions that normally see us struggle a bit more.
“I started the session with used tyres, and I finished the first part of that work with a few more laps on the rear tyre than those we'll do on Sunday, with a good rhythm, so that's positive. Then I tried to get the most out of the bike and do a fast lap, and it went well. I enjoyed riding the Yamaha M1 a lot here in Misano.
“Physically I feel quite good. I had some pain in my right leg because the crash is quite recent, and although we've done a lot of physio it still isn't perfect. But it's not been important, because on the bike you forget about pain - especially when you're enjoying riding.”