Garrett Gerloff and Federico Caricasulo, who weren’t part of the recent test here, both had to deal with another day of high temperatures, with the track reaching 47°C. The team worked hard to provide the two rookies with the best possible set-up, with varying results.
American rider Gerloff was 10th in the morning and 13th in the afternoon to place 12th on combined times and just 0.861s adrift, despite his lack of experience at the Spanish venue. Italian Caricasulo was 14th overall, having recorded his fastest time in the cooler FP1 session.
Track temperatures are expected to be much lower on Saturday, with the GRT Yamaha riders taking to the 5.078 km circuit at 09:00 (GMT+2) for FP3, followed by Superpole at 11:00 and the all-important opening race at 14:00.
Elsewhere, Ten Kate Yamaha WorldSBK Supported Team’s Loris Baz was the fastest Yamaha R1 rider on Friday, lapping a 1’50.979 in the morning, which was good enough for sixth overall and within half-a-second of the pace-setter.