Top rookie Folger speeds to 8th on day 1 in Argentina – Solid start for Zarco
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 duo delivered two encouraging performances as they got straight to work in South America. Jonas Folger produced a spirited display to conclude the opening day as the fastest rookie and in 8th overall. His personal best in FP2 was just 0.277 back from third after he kicked off the weekend with a strong run to 4th in the morning. Whilst Johann Zarco commenced his round 2 campaign with an impressive ride to 3rd in FP1, which resulted in him being only 0.218 adrift of the fastest time. He then pushed onwards in the afternoon, before finishing 0.183 back from his teammate and ahead of Factory MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa by 0.005. The action will resume at 09:55 tomorrow morning, or 14:55 in central Europe.
Jonas FOLGER
Position: 8th – Time: 1’40.157 – Laps: 40
Jonas FOLGER – 2017″With it being my first time at this circuit on a MotoGP bike, today went quite well. The track has a low grip level so we focused a lot on the electronics as well as the power delivery, plus the team and I also experimented with the tyres a bit. At the end of the day I am 8th and the fastest rookie, so we can be pleased with what we have achieved so far. I know that I can especially improve in the first sector because I am losing some time there, as that area of the track is quite bumpy and I need to build my confidence in the first two corners, where some people have crashed already. We will analyse the data tonight so that we can understand how to be faster, and let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Johann ZARCO
Postion: 12th – Time: 1’40.340 – Laps: 40
Johann ZARCO – 2017″Overall I am happy and both of the sessions went quite positively for me. We worked well and made constant steps forward which is important as well as encouraging, plus my rhythm is good and I feel comfortable on the bike. However, at the last corner, I am losing a bit of time so we need to understand how we can improve the grip at that section of the track. This is the only area where I was not able to advance on my personal best from FP1. Therefore, it’s a bit of a pity because this limitation meant that I didn’t finish inside the top ten, and if it rains tomorrow, as it is expected to, then I will need to compete in QP1. Yet the most important thing is to stay on the pace and keep working in order to be ready for the second race of the 2017 season.”