As here, two sessions were scheduled today, from 10:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m. and from 15:00 p.m. to 18:00 p.m. (French time) so that MotoGP test riders could work on the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
But unlike here, the titular drivers, who rode on production motorcycles, are absent since they have already left for Le Mans.
So only the test pilots remain, with the atypical case of Stefan Bradl which, unlike Bradley Smith for Aprilia, decided to stay and ride today, even if it means taking a private plane at the end of the afternoon to reach Sarthe.
It was a good thing for him, since he achieved 1'40.833 at the end of this last morning, an improvement in the time compared to the one he achieved yesterday, but which remains higher than the time of Michele Pirro who took the lead in the morning's ranking in the last half hour, in 1'40.435, two tenths off what is currently the Portuguese track record held by Aleix Espargaró in 1'40.170.
The Italian still uses lasers mounted on each side of the swingarm of his Ducati GP20 to digitize the behavior of the rear axle.
Generally speaking, all the drivers improved their best time this morning, including Jorge Lorenzo which however remains last, more than 2 seconds behind Lorenzo Savadori absent yesterday. Hard, hard, back to school...
