Luckily for the GRT Yamaha riders, the track remained dry for Free Practice 1, and Gerloff, despite being fastest in FP2, did most of his work in the morning, in which he was 10th (1’34.155) after running 19 laps. The American’s position at the top of the standings in the afternoon’s session shows his ease at immediately managing a quick lap, but overall, it is not particularly representative, as the rain immediately started falling and his fastest lap was also his only one.
Kohta Nozane, on the other hand, had a tough time finding the pace he wanted in FP1 and only managed the 18th fastest time (1’35.408). Eager to become better acquainted with both the Yamaha R1 in wet conditions and the Czech track, he was then among the riders who decided to go back out when the rain arrived in FP2. He ran eight laps and found a good feeling with his bike, improving every lap and ending the session in 12th place with a 1’52.427.
For Friday's combined times, click here.
