MotoGP – Motegi Day 1 – Vermeulen in difficulty

Another difficult day for Vermeulen, who recorded the eighteenth best time in today's free practice. During the morning the Australian had to deal with some problems which, although promptly resolved by the mechanics, caused him to miss the first session. In the afternoon everything started working again, but progress was limited – all that remains is to wait for tomorrow's qualifying for the driver to try to improve on his time.

“It wasn't a great day today! – said Chris – We battled with some problems with the bike this morning which the mechanics resolved very quickly between the two sessions. This afternoon was like my first real session because everything done in the morning was a bit of a waste of time. We got everything working and made some progress but I'm disappointed with my lap time. In the end I just wanted to do a fast lap with the setting I liked, tomorrow we have to make a lot of steps forward so as to place ourselves a little higher.”

Chiara Folci