Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz finished the first day of practice at Misano in 14th and 15th position.
The action started with some wet patches on the track after heavy rainstorms during the previous night and the first free practice session of 45 minutes finished with Barbera in 11th place and Baz in 20th.
In the afternoon with bright sunshine and the track in perfect condition, both riders went out to attack and improved their lap times greatly. The only flaw was that everybody else improved as well. In the end, the lap times were really close together, with the first 15 riders separated by less than a second.
Both Baz and Barbera hope to take another step tomorrow, with the aim to get in the top 10 and to secure a place in Q2, which would enable them to fight for a good grid position for Sunday’s 28-lap-race.
“In the morning it was difficult, I did not feel good with the bike and the track was not perfect. In the afternoon we improved a lot, but we still have the same problems with the bike. It does not turn very well and this is a problem for me when I do many laps in a row. So it’s not possible to maintain a fast pace, because I cannot keep perfect lines and go fast without destroying the tyres too much. The lap has not been bad, with my ideal time we would have been in the Top 10, but I still lack some confidence. Let’s see if what can do tomorrow.”
“It has been a very positive day in which we were able to get many conclusions and some ideas to improve. It’s all very tight and the proof is that I’m 15th but only nine tenths from the first. I made a mistake on my best lap, so I think we still have a small margin for improvement. Tomorrow we will test one thing on the other bike that I think can help us on this track. Today I enjoyed riding, we are close and I think tomorrow we have many chances to move to Q2. I want to do well and I am very motivated.”
