Estoril FP

Ben Spies managed to avoid the rain today as the Portuguese GP got underway at Estoril.

Today marked Texan rider Spies’ first opportunity to ride the Estoril circuit in the dry. With no race experience and no dry set up from last year the crew started with a base set up from Jerez in the morning.

A number of set up changes followed and Spies also tried the harder Bridgestone tyre option in the afternoon session. The Yamaha Factory rider made steady improvements from morning to afternoon, finishing the day in eighth having improved on the morning session by 0.332 of a second.

Ben Spies - Position : 8th Time: 1’38.563 Laps: 41

“It hasn’t been a perfect day; we’ve struggled a little bit. We tried to get a feel for the harder tyre this afternoon and don’t think that’s the right way for us. We tried some different settings through the sessions and we think we know what we need to do. We’re not close to the front but we’ll find our way up there. I’m pretty confident my guys and me can step up and be there, it’s in me and the bike so we’ll come back tomorrow and improve.”

Massimo Meregalli - Team Director

“We worked to find a good, balanced set up today for Ben. It was his first day on a dry circuit here in Estoril so it was a learning experience. We’ve been working hard to make the bike as he wants it; we still have more to do as the set up is not as he would like it yet. Jorge did a really good long run; he definitely has the right rhythm and good pace and should make another step forward tomorrow.”