The first day of practice for the Valencia Grand Prix took place in the pouring rain today, obliging Race Direction to bring out the red flags both during FP1 and FP2, because of a vast amount of water present in several parts of the track.
The practice sessions resumed but further heavy rain in the afternoon meant that none of the top riders were able to improve on the times they had set during the morning session. As a result, Andrea Dovizioso ended the day in fourth place with a time of 1’40.179
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 4th (1’40.179)
“This morning, despite the rain, the track had good grip but in the afternoon we encountered different conditions: there was really a lot of water and I didn’t have a particularly good feeling with my bike. In any case we managed to do a few tests with the tyres: the session was useful for this reason, especially because this year we haven’t lapped much in the rain, and we picked up some good indications for Sunday’s race, should it be wet.”