First approach to the Mandalika International Street Circuit for the MotoGP circus with Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi at work on the Ducati Desmosedici GPs of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team and respectively in P20 and P21 in the combined. A demanding Day1, characterized by the rain that hit the area of the circuit at the start and then at the end of the session and even before by a long break around 12.00 local time to allow the cleaning of the track due to the violent showers of last night. At work from the early hours of the morning in the garage, but on the track from 1.30 pm to make the most of the central hours of the day, Luca Marini completes 53 laps and sets a best lap time of 1.34.165. On the other hand, among the first to test the new circuit, with wet tires, Marco Bezzecchi finished with a good time of 1.34.173 (in dry conditions) and 63 total laps despite two small crashes. For both, an appointment on the track tomorrow at 9.00 local time for the second of the three days of official MotoGP tests.
Luca Marini: “A good first day here in Mandalika. I like the track, it is very fast and with several long curves on the way. At the same time there are a couple of violent braking points, it is definitely a track that in a good situation can really give you some flavor. Too bad for today, the asphalt was very dirty, conditions far from ideal for a first approach to a new circuit. Overall I can’t complain, we went ahead to discover the new Ducati GP22 and tomorrow we will go back to work to take another step“.
Marco Bezzecchi: “An uphill day, but a good first impression of the new Mandalika track. The asphalt conditions were far from perfect and we wasted half a day trying to clean the track as well as possible. The grip is not bad at all and tomorrow we can do even better. Too bad for the two small crashes, the second one above all because it was my mistake that with more experience I might have been able to avoid. Let’s get back to data work to get even closer“.
Pablo Nieto: “A more complicated day than expected. It is not easy to ride on a new track for the first time in these conditions. The asphalt was very dirty and this forced us to pit for most of the morning. Better in the afternoon, however, we consider that the track is not yet fully rubberized, but the track looks really fast and I think the times will drop even more. Luca continued to adapt to the new bike, even Marco who unfortunately crashed twice. Tomorrow we will get back to work on the set up“.
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