The MotoGP test day in Mugello was affected by rain, which did not allow the riders and teams to do the work they had planned. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia), who needs to make clear progress, still completed seven laps, currently among the top nine fastest.
According to the Portuguese rider, the weather conditions were a hindrance to testing what was scheduled: ‘There was something useful, but we couldn’t get into it. Because of the track conditions, it didn’t make sense to go out and without being in an acceptable lap time window to test anything because it was just performance-related. So, as you can imagine, it’s very difficult to do when the track is not in good condition. We have to shorten the day a bit. I did a few laps in the rain, but it didn’t make sense.’
Regarding the importance of this test day, Oliveira mentioned: ‘I needed it. We had some ideas; after analyzing the data yesterday, we clearly saw why I had difficulties in the race to turn the bike and had a lot of front-end sliding, which didn’t help me turn. We wanted the opportunity today to correct that or at least try to understand the direction to follow. So, yes, today was an important day.’
The rain also didn’t help #88 test the electronic settings of the bike, as he stated: ‘I was already happy with the electronic adjustments we have as a base for the bike and when I went out on the track, we obviously tested that again. But let’s say we didn’t need to spend the whole day in rainy conditions testing anything specific about the electronics.’
