De Puniet was the quickest of the CRT's, placing eleventh overall. He lost time in the morning when a stone became stuck in his tyre, but was stronger in the second session with a 1'41.855 lap, two seconds off the top spot.
His Spanish teammate Aleix Espargaro also made a good start, he came in fourteenth. The Spaniard suffered a little with the difficult track conditions, but was nonetheless satisfied.
Randy de Puniet
"The first session was difficult and in the middle of it I felt that the bike was very heavy and feeling strange on the front. I decided to stop and found a small stone lodged in the tyre. Things went better in the afternoon, as we tried out various electronic settings to improve our engine braking and I immediately felt more comfortable. I rode for fifteen laps on the hard tyre then tried the soft tyre. I am happy, because both my feeling and my times improved considerably from the morning. We were only two seconds off the top, which is pretty decent when you consider how long the straight at Indianapolis is."
Aleix Espargaró
"I am much happier than I was at Laguna Seca and the feeling here on board the bike is notably better. We lost a little time this afternoon trying a few things out with the second bike, which we had to do because it was not working as well as the number one machine. Maybe I was missing a fast lap for the day, but in general I am happy and think that we did a good job today. The track conditions today were a little hairy, as you would slide around a lot and it was dirty on the majority of the asphalt. That made keeping up a steady pace very difficult. Fortunately, things improved as the day went on. Despite this, you have to ride with a lot of care."
Press release courtesy of Power Electronics Aspar.
