After a tough morning that also saw action for many delayed due to the wind, Andrea Iannone and his new team worked through some difficulties to find big improvements towards the end of the day and end the session in third.

The “Maniac” put in a best of 1:29.926 to push himself up into the top three, completing 70 laps on the first day of action.

“This morning was very difficult for us. The team couldn’t find the proper setting to feel confident." Said Iannone who "struggled a lot."

"But then in the afternoon, we changed some settings and improved step by step."

"At the final stage I was happy because the machine improved, as well as the feeling of the bike and the pace." He added.

"This is a very positive outcome, because it means we have the capability to overcome very hard situations and turn them into a positive. As of tomorrow, we have the chance to work on pace as well as single lap performance, and also introduce some more improvements."

"We are on a good path. My crew chief is as new as I am with the GSX-RR and it’s very important for us to learn and get to know it at its best."