Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were back on track today to experience the first sessions ahead of Sunday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Both riders had a cautious start to the first free practice session of the second round in the USA as they tested the refreshed but slightly damp Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The pair soon made progress as they found that the resurfaced track has a lot more grip and the new, smoother fourth section suits the Yamaha, boosting their confidence for good results this weekend.

Lorenzo and Rossi both used the first session to test the medium and the hard tyre. Lorenzo found his pace during the second session making an almost 1.5 second improvement from the morning to the afternoon. He ended the day in third with a 1’33.424 second lap set with a hard rear tyre.

Teammate Rossi also used a hard rear tyre when he topped the morning session. During Free Practice 2 he improved his time by almost a second, finishing in 9th place with a lap of 1’33.598.

Jorge Lorenzo - 3rd / 1'33.424 / 17 laps

“Finally the resurfaced track doesn't seem so bad. The three corners that were in the past maybe a little bit too slow we don't have to use first gear for now so we don't lose so much speed on our competitors. Last year the bumps were quite bad, now the resurfacing of the track means they are gone. We were the only ones to start the second practice with the soft rear tyre, the other ones took the old one from the morning so they could use a new soft tyre at the end. Finally we tried the hard option and it was ok, so it could be the tyre for the Sunday.”

Valentino Rossi - 9th / 1'33.598 / 22 laps

“The new lay-out of the track is good. I like it! It’s better than the old lay-out and especially the asphalt and the quality of the surface is a lot better, so it’s good. It’s easier to ride the bike because it has more grip. Here it’s difficult to decide on a tyre, because both the medium and the harder tyre are not bad. The softer tyre is a bit faster, but it will be difficult to make it last for the whole race, so we have to try to decide. I tried to put the softer tyre in on the end of the session and I improved my lap time. From the third position all riders are very close so I will have to do better!”

Massimo Meregalli - Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“We were pretty satisfied this morning and both riders had good comments about the layout and the track surface. As the times dropped this afternoon we were able to see where we need to improve our set up so we are now working on solutions for FP3 for tomorrow. Tyres are going to be very important this weekend, Both Jorge and Vale evaluated both the softer and harder option but we are yet to make a decision. We have some set up changes to make in the morning to make another step and then I’m confident we will be ready to tackle qualifying and the race on Sunday.”

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