Positive Race Pace in Portimão Free Practice for Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK

The first day in Portimão was a bit different compared to testing at the beginning of this year – in winter conditions! I think we did a really good job for Friday and we understand where we need to improve – coming from Aragon I have a really good feeling and confidence, especially from Sunday. We started FP1 with the set-up from Aragon, but it’s a little bit different here so we just needed to understand which way to go. Also, we don’t have the Pirelli X tyre available, so there is less rear grip – but the feeling is good, we just need to work on some small details tonight, rebalance the bike a bit for this track and I think we can be strong in the races. I believe we can do very well here, so let’s see what is possible tomorrow!

Friday was not bad, I started a bit stronger than in Aragon! Still a little bit some problem and we are just trying to improve. Especially, today I check last year’s lap times – some corners we are better, some we are slow. Overall we are a little bit faster than last year, just my problem is the last sector, last long right corner. But in general, I am not focused on the fast lap time. My feeling is good and we made a 20-lap race simulation – the last lap was not so strong but to try 20 laps is good, because after 10 laps I understand the tyre and tomorrow we can improve with the data. I hope tomorrow we come to the front again! The jump today was a bit motocross-style, like a whip – I am not trying more than this, maybe only if we win the race tomorrow!

It’s always positive to be back on track quickly, and a double-header after a successful event in Aragon provides an excellent opportunity to carry momentum from last weekend – where we achieved our best Aragon results since Yamaha’s return to WorldSBK in 2016. Portimão is quite different to Aragon – it requires an R1 set-up that allows the riders to change direction easily but also offers good turning in the long corners. The team got to work today on race simulation, with Toprak completing a very useful 20-lap long run in this afternoon’s Free Practice 2. We need to look closely at the last sector to improve as the differential to Alvaro Bautista in the average lap time is coming exclusively from this part of the track. It should be easier in the race tomorrow with a bit of slipstream, but the reality is that Toprak always has margin to “do more”! With Loka, we didn’t quite have the right bike balance to start the day – but after so much pace in Aragon, it made complete sense to see if that transferred here to Portimão. The #55 crew made adjustments for FP2, and are working to give our Italian rider the same confidence to fight at the front for tomorrow’s Race 1.