Slick test for riders
RAIN washed away any hopes of fast times – and a realistic gauge of rider performance – on a weatherinterrupted day at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island yesterday.
The second practice session was abandoned late in the afternoon after only 13 minutes and just six riders ventured on to the sodden track.
Brit Cal Crutchlow ended the day with a fastest time of 1min 40.957sec clocked in the first practice session but even the LCR Honda star admitted the result was not a true measure of who would be competing for the podium by tomorrow.
“There’s still a long way to go, it’s hard to tell,” he said.
Italian great Valentino Rossi was second fastest, just 0.04sec behind Crutchlow but fell foul of the stewards.
He was sanctioned for running the superfront wet tyres for more than 10 laps so his fastest times were ruled out.
Australia’s Jack Miller on the Marc VDS Honda made light of the conditions, ending the day third on the timesheets behind Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci.
Late in the session Miller ran off at turn 1 after peaking at 308km/h on Gardner Straight.
But for all riders, grip and braking was difficult in the poor conditions.
Newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez was fourth on the Repsol factory Honda.
“We hoped for a dry day to enjoy ourselves, but it’s not been the case. Hopefully, tomorrow conditions will improve at least a little,” he said.
Marquez’s teammate Nicky Hayden, the 2006 world champion who is replacing the injured Dani Pedrosa for the Australian race, finished the session in ninth.
Rossi’s Yamaha teammate and last year’s world champion Jorge Lorenzo again struggled in the wet and was 19th fastest, 4.7sec behind Crutchlow.
Aussie wildcard Mike Jones was a creditable 13th on the Avintia Racing Ducati.
Jones, 22, was also one of six riders who ventured out for the afternoon session.
Fastest in the afternoon was Ducati factory rider Hector Barbera, although lap times were about 10 seconds off the morning pace.
In Moto2, German Jonas Folger was fastest in the morning session, while Australian teenager Remy Gardner was 10th.
The afternoon Moto2 session was cancelled.
Australia’s wildcard entry in Moto3 Matt Barton was 30th on a tough day for the 125cc class, which was headed by Italian Nicolo Bulega.
Today’s morning practice sessions for the three classes could start an hour earlier, depending on the weather forecast.