Jack Miller and Tito Rabat are pleased with the progress they made during the first day of testing for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at the Jerez circuit.
With a time of 1'41.904, Miller is in twentieth position. After a high-speed fall in Texas which forced him to give up the race on the Circuit of the Americas, the Australian is gradually regaining confidence. Since this fall, Miller has worked a lot to improve his right ankle, but he is not yet comfortable enough to attack at the limit on the very technical track of Jerez.
With a warmer temperature this afternoon, Miller improved his feel to shave 1,2 seconds off his morning time. A deserved reward after all the efforts made to prepare for this first event in Europe.
In front of his home crowd, Rabat also managed to improve his morning time by one second. The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS driver set a lap time of 1'42.230 which places him three tenths behind his teammate.
Between now and FP3, the Spanish driver will focus on reducing the wheelie when accelerating out of slow corners such as Dry Sack and Jorge Lorenzo.
Jack Miller: 20th – 1'41.904
“I lost a little confidence after the fall in Texas and I would say that today I was only at 50% of my potential. My leg hurts but I gritted my teeth during both sessions. My goal now is to make the bike work better for me. On a track without much grip we don't have many problems, but on a circuit like Jerez with a very abrasive surface the job is more difficult. I'm going to work with the mobile clinic tonight and put ice on my ankle to keep it from swelling too much. We have to be ready for tomorrow. »
Tito Rabat: 21th – 1'42.230
“I am happy with the step we took this afternoon in terms of time. I was happy to find my rhythm again, but it's clear that it's still not enough. I'm losing too much time accelerating out of the corner because of the wheelie and that's where I'll have to work. If we can reduce this, I can do a lot better. For my part, I will work on my trajectories and my driving to try to gain positions on the grid. »
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Tito reached an important milestone this afternoon even though we didn't make any very big changes to his bike's settings. We would all like to be closer to the leaders, but we must not forget that this circuit is difficult for a beginner. Tito is doing pretty well. On Jack's side, it is obvious that his condition is far from optimal because of his injured ankle. He doesn't have the confidence to place the bike correctly on the circuit and we have to try to help him feel more comfortable by playing with the settings. Whatever the case, his condition remains a real handicap for the time being. »
