Positive start to the weekend for Team HRC at Magny-Cours

“Finally we had a dry session here at Magny Cours this afternoon, a first one for us with Honda, because last year it rained the whole time and this morning the track was wet. We did a little bit of tyre testing to get some feeling in the dry and I have to say that the new asphalt is quite good, there are not many dips, especially considering that we’re coming from Navarra. We tried to improve our grip at maximum lean angle and our traction, the two areas where we suffer the most really. In the end, we are a little behind in the classification, but the times are very close and the gap is not too great. Tomorrow we will try to improve as much as we can because even a few tenths will make the difference in terms of our position. It's important to complete a good qualifying lap to secure a good grid position. We are usually stronger in the second half of the race so starting as far ahead as possible will be important.”

“We had no information for this track with the Honda, as last year it was wet, so the first dry laps we’ve completed here were this afternoon. Things weren’t so bad as far as lap times are concerned. There are still some areas in which we need to improve but the things we’ve found in testing can definitely help us make a step here. That wasn’t the case in Navarra, which probably was one of the most difficult weekend for us so far sadly, but at this circuit I think we’ve already made a step. We are trying to improve on corner entry mainly, and front feeling too. Here we have three corners where we are struggling, the stop-stop type of corner, but in the first sector, the fast flowing one, the bike is very strong. So we’ll keep working as we always do and we will see where we can go.”