The rain characterized the first day of free practice at the Magny-Cours circuit.
After the morning session during in which the riders became familiar with the new asphalt in wet conditions, in the FP2 both Scott Redding and Chaz Davies were able to make significant progress both in terms of time and feeling with their respective Ducati Panigale V4 R.
It was the first time on the Magny-Cours circuit for Scott Redding and the English rider took advantage of the FP1 to get to know the track and work on the wet tires, used only once in the season.
In the FP2 Scott found a good feeling and managed to stay consistently in the Top 5. A small crash without consequences 5 minutes before the end of the session did not allow him to improve his position further.
Comforting feelings also for Chaz Davies who in the afternoon worked a lot on the new rear tire supplied by Pirelli and was able to find, in addition to a good feeling, also consistency on the pace.
FP Combined Standings
P1 – G. Gerloff (Yamaha) 1’48.830
P2 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 1’48.845 (+0.015)
P3 – M. Rinaldi (Ducati) 1’48.914 (+0.084)
P4 – L. Baz (Yamaha) 1’49,412 (+0,582)
P5 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 1’49,552 (+0,722)
P7 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’49.899 (+1.069)
P11 – C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.643 (+1.813)
P7 – Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“If have to be honest, I had fun today. It is always good to race on a new circuit and this one is really exciting. I would have loved to be able to race here in dry conditions. I was however satisfied with what we did in wet conditions, even with Pirelli’s new rear tire. I think we have great room for improvement”.
P11 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We made progress in the two sessions. We have tried the new Pirelli rear tire and the feeling is that we have made a good step forward. I was able to improve lap after lap but it is clear that the gap is still quite wide. I’m sure we can make more progress tomorrow. At this point, I have to work mainly on my feeling with the bike”.
