- How was the first day on this track?
- More or less like always. There is less grip and more spinning. We have to work more on the electronics to prevent the tires from sliding so much, either by reducing power or increasing the traction control. Apart from Mugello, I notice a big difference in the other circuits, but we have worked very well and it has gone well for us on a circuit that I normally struggle with.
- What problem did you have in the morning, when you were seventh?
- I was losing a lot in the acceleration of the last corner, because the front wheel was lifting a lot, and in the braking of the first corner, when I started to lean, I kept losing the rear wheel. We changed the electronics and it improved my confidence a lot, and we were able to gain three tenths there. For the rest of the circuit, changing the setting also helped us improve. We have gained that half second that allows us to be closer to Márquez.
- Márquez seems to be ahead, is it time to forget about him and focus only on Valentino?
- No, you never rule out a victory. No matter how bad things are, anything can happen and there are still two more training sessions left. If we manage to improve the bike, we can be closer. Besides, he set his time with a new tire, which he put in the middle of the session and surely gave him a couple of tenths. For now, Marc has two or three tenths more pace than us.
- How is the asymmetrical front tire?
- I have been riding all day with the asymmetrical front tire. It is the same on the right, but harder on the left. I haven't noticed a drop in grip and the feeling is quite similar.
- The times have improved despite the cold...
- In all the circuits, we are running faster than last year, the bikes have improved a lot, they lean more and enter the corners faster, and that is noticeable. Especially in one lap, the times are improving a lot, in the race it depends on the circuit.
- Does Honda have an advantage here?
- At the beginning of the training, we saw two Hondas leading, although then Marc improved with the new tire, something that Dani did not do, because I suppose he started with the new one from the beginning and did not improve his time in the last laps. But it is true that in Sachsenring, Honda has everything in place from the beginning and we are a couple of tenths behind. But this morning it was half a second or six tenths. So we are getting closer.