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Uncertain weather and mixed track conditions characterised the first day of free practices of the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera di Rimini, scheduled for this Sunday at the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli". After a dry start, the MotoGP riders had to face the final minutes of this morning's FP1 under the rain, which started to fall again in the afternoon, just moments before FP2, held entirely in the wet.
At the end of Friday, there are no changes on the combined timesheets compared to this morning, with Pecco Bagnaia in third place, followed by Jack Miller in fourth. The Italian rider, winner of last weekend's Aragon GP, immediately felt comfortable on his Desmosedici GP at his home track as he proved to be fast also in the wet, closing FP2 with the second-fastest lap time behind the Ducati of Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing Team) and ahead of teammate Miller (3rd). The Australian rider, fourth overall, also ended his first day at Misano with excellent sensations both in the dry and in the wet, which make him confident ahead of tomorrow afternoon's qualifying session.
In addition to the two Ducati Lenovo Team riders, Michele Pirro, Ducati Test Team rider and wildcard this weekend, also took to the track today, posting the fifteenth fastest time overall in 1:33.482.
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 3rd (1:32.801)
"Our first day here at Misano was a positive one: we knew that our bike works very well here, and the fact that both Jack and I were very fast right from the start proved it. Also, three Ducatis were the fastest this afternoon in FP2 in the wet. Unfortunately, the rain didn't allow us to try some important changes on the setup, but hopefully, the weather will improve tomorrow. After today's downpour, the track will be much cleaner tomorrow, and we had a lot of grip in the wet, whereas, in the dry, I struggled a little bit because of the sand left by the rain that fell on Wednesday night. Hopefully, we can find the right conditions to try and improve again in FP3 tomorrow morning".
Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 4th (1:32.859)
"Today, we were able to ride in different track conditions, and I'm delighted because, in both the dry and wet, we were able to get a good pace right away. This morning I was expecting a slow track after the rain that fell on Wednesday evening, which brought sand, but we were very fast straight away and managed to get a good time on the medium tyre in FP1. I was hoping to do a long run in the dry this afternoon, but it wasn't possible, but I still had a good time in the wet. Now we have to keep working like this. We know where we can still improve, so I'm confident for qualifying tomorrow".
Michele Pirro (#51 Ducati Test Team) - 15th (1:33.482)
"Today, the weather conditioned our first day a lot. In FP1 this morning, we had to finetune the two bikes, and when it was time to push, it started raining. In FP2, I only did a few laps in the rain, but I am happy because, in general, the feeling is excellent. Now we'll get ready for tomorrow, where the goal will be to get into Q2".
The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 9:55 am for the FP3 session, while qualifying for the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera di Rimini will take place from 2:10 pm local time, at the end of FP4.
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