Final round in Valencia begins for Iannone

There were perfect summer conditions today at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, site of the 18th and final round of the 2013 season, during which the world title will be decided.

Andrea Iannone, Pramac Racing Team

Photo by: Hazrin Yeob Men Shah

Andrea Iannone concluded the day’s challenging pair of practice sessions, held with air temperatures ranging from 20º and 23º C (68-73° F) and on asphalt ranging from 21º and 26º C (70-79° F), with a best time of 1'32.596.

Set on the penultimate lap of FP2, the time put him in 12th place in the combined times, only two tenths of a second from from the Ducati Team riders and a bit more than one second from leader Marc Marquez.

Some positive changes that were made between the sessions will serve as the starting point for the work of the Italian and the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team as they prepare for tomorrow’s important qualifying day.

Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team: "This morning we started with a few problems, but then we checked the data and intervened in some critical points, and we managed to improve during the second session. This morning we tried the hard tyres for most of the session in order to understand their behaviour, and it wasn’t bad. Then we put on the soft rear tyre and were able to get closer to Nicky and Dovi.

Unfortunately, I still don’t have much confidence with the front on braking; I can’t be as incisive as I’d like and I can’t take advantage of the front tyre. With these temperatures, however, the tyres react well and the track has good grip, as the asphalt is still pretty new. Still, the gap is roughly the same as always, even if we suffer the drop in tyre performance a bit less."

Pramac Racing