Espargaro dominates proceedings on first day at his “lucky charm” track

Pol Espargaró took over at the front on the first day of practice for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, posting the fastest laptime in both practice sessions, going faster than the circuit record and lapping half a second quicker than his closest rival, putting over a second on the rest of the field. The Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider, currently second in the championship, showed again his excellent form and his motivation to fight for top honours in all races.

Tito Rabat also was among the fastest throughout the day, almost always within the top five, although a crash when he was improving his laptime relegated him to ninth position, just over half a second behind the provisional first row.

Axel Pons was unlucky to suffer a flat tyre when he had just put on a new one and therefore lost his chance to improve his laptime considerably, which still made big progress from the first to second practice.

1. POL ESPARGARÓ, 1.43.575 “I felt very good on the bike and did many laps at a high pace. I had a couple of moments, but in general I was enjoying myself on the bike and rode pretty comfortable. In the final moments of the practice I improved my laptime and I think it could have still been a bit better if I hadn’t run into traffic in the slow parts of the circuit. I like this track a lot, I’ve always been on the podium, both in 125cc and in Moto2, and we are working hard to achieve that again for the fifth consecutive time.”

9. TITO RABAT, 1.45.077 “It was a pity that I crashed when I did my best laptime and could get very close to Pol. I lost grip and I still have some problems with the front. Despite all that I have a good feeling with the bike and I think tomorrow I can take an important step forward. We will keep working hard and I am confident to return fighting for the podium like last year.”

25. AXEL PONS, 1.46.585 “In the afternoon we had solved many problems from the morning session and we went on to improve the laptime significantly, but less than I had hoped for. I got a flat when I put on the new tyre looking for a good lap and there I lost many tenths, because I had to come in and put on a used tyre with which I couldn’t push. I have a lot of bumping, but I hope to continue progress and to make up positions tomorrow to not start from far behind.”

Source: Pons Racing Press Release