As the Grand Prix of Japan is an important event for Yamaha and Kohta Nozane, Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp were keen to put their best foot forward at the start of the race weekend. Manuel Gonzalez wrapped up the first day of Moto2 action at the Mobility Resort Motegi in eighth place in the combined results. Nozane was spurred on by the support of the fans and set the 22nd fastest time of the day.
Gonzalez displayed his motivation for Yamaha‘s home GP by showing an impressive pace in the already hot morning session. He was temporarily leading with a 1‘51.013s, set on lap 14/18, until the times dropped in the final stages. He ultimately ended the session in fourth place, feeling satisfied to have a good feeling with the bike early in the weekend.
The Spaniard continued to work on his bike‘s settings in the hot afternoon session. He featured inside the top 5 for most of the time until the final stages, when the times dropped. His 1‘51.044s, set on lap 13/17, kept him in eighth place in the P2 results. His slightly faster morning time also kept him in eighth in the combined classifications.
After a positive race weekend in India, Nozane felt ready to tackle his home GP. As he likes the Motegi track and knows it well, he was able to fully concentrate on working on his riding style in P1 to get familiar with the Moto2 lines. His best lap, a 1‘52.676s set on lap 15/16, put him in 26th place in the morning rankings.
Receiving lots of support from the fans in the paddock and the stands around the track, the home hero felt inspired to push extra hard in the afternoon session. He shaved off almost 1s from his morning time, clocking a 1‘51.711s on lap 15/16. The lap earned him 21st place in the P2 rankings and 22nd place in the combined classifications.
The Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp teammates will be back in action from 09:25 - 09:55 GMT +9 on Saturday for P3, followed by the qualifying sessions from 13:45 - 14:25.
