Poor conditions affect day two of MotoGP

Saturday proved to be a largely frustrating affair for those present at the MotoGP Test at Jerez, as wind and rain contributed to a difficult second day. A spell of heavy rain in the afternoon did however permit some progress to be made in terms of trying out full wet set-ups, and also saw the roll-out of the new rear tail-lights that will be mandatory in such conditions throughout the 2012 season. The morning started out grey and overcast with a low track temperature, and blustery wind and light spots of rain meant that only a handful of riders had ventured out by around 1.30pm local time. By that stage Ducati Test rider Franco Battaini and CRT team Avintia Racing's Iván Silva were the only two to have put in more than an out lap. However, with the arrival of a more substantial amount of rain shortly after the vast majority of riders saw the benefit in accumulating laps, and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa was the first to emerge in full wet set-up, putting in a long run of 20 laps which he said at the end of the day had been a worthwhile confidence builder on the RC213V, on which he rode a total of 25 laps. As the rain came down heavier every rider except Avintia Racing's Yonny Hernández went out for more than a single lap, putting in varying amounts of work. In total 12 of the 21 MotoGP™ riders racked up more than 20 laps, with lap times spread widely due to the conditions. Shortly before the end of the day's action, which came at 6pm local time, the track was almost completely dried out, allowing Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) to register a time of 1'40.755. Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) also put in a fast lap at the end, but the likes of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing), Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda), and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso did not ride in the drier conditions late on. World Champion Stoner only went out for a total of three laps, seeing no value to be gained from the state of the track. With such a varied day the workloads of the teams and riders were somewhat limited, aside from the wet set-up work undertaken, and the majority will now focus on Sunday, the third and final day of the Test.