Andrea Dovizioso second on the opening day of free practice for the Shell Malaysia GP at Sepang. Jorge Lorenzo, still suffering after his wrist operation, down in 24th place
Andrea Dovizioso had a positive start today to his race weekend at the Sepang circuit, where the Shell Malaysia Grand Prix will be held on Sunday at 15.00 local time (08.00 CET). The Ducati Team rider ended the day in second position, with a best lap of 1’59.697, which he set in the morning session.
It was a difficult return to the track for Jorge Lorenzo, who is recovering from last week’s operation on a ligament of his left wrist. The Spanish rider, still in some pain, only did a few laps in both FP1 and FP2 and he ended up down in 24th place. In the evening Jorge will undergo some physiotherapy and pain-killing treatment and will decide tomorrow morning if he is able to go out once again on the Malaysian track for the FP3 session.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd (1’59.697)
“Today went very well, especially in the afternoon. This morning we were quick right from the start, the track was in excellent condition and we knew we could get into the top 10. I immediately set a great time and this allowed us to work on our race pace in the afternoon: we tried two different set-ups and we improved in many aspects. It was a positive day and I’m very satisfied with today’s performance.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 24th (2’03.204)
“It was a very difficult day because I hoped to have better sensations on my bike. It’s true that I’m better than at Motegi, but I’m still feeling a lot of pain when I brake and change direction, and my times are not competitive. It’s really frustrating to lap so slowly and the logical decision would be to stop here, but before giving up, I’ll do some physiotherapy this evening and then we’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning when I get up, before taking a final decision, even though I’m not very optimistic at the moment.”
