With just a couple of days rest following the Texas Grand Prix last weekend, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team were back on track today for the first practice session of this weekend’s GP Red Bull de la República Argentina.

The first morning session at the Termas de Río Hondo was taken gently by riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, the two testing the grip levels as the premier class group added fresh rubber to the slippery circuit. Rossi completed the free practice in 14th and teammate Lorenzo in 20th.

The second session saw light rain in the opening minutes, but the drama was short lived and the track quickly dried. The two Yamaha Factory riders gradually picked up their pace, taking over four seconds off their FP1 times as the grip levels rose. The improvements continued lap by lap to end with Lorenzo in sixth, 0.687 from the top and Rossi in ninth, 1.171 from first.

Jorge Lorenzo  - 6th / 1'39.463 / 18 laps

"The grip obviously improved from the first practice to the second and I felt really good with the hard tyre. We put a soft tyre in to improve the lap time towards the end and we were able to do it. Apart from the front rider with the extra soft tyre we are very close to the rest so let's see for tomorrow. There’s going to be less of a difference than between today's sessions but there should be a positive improvement and the rear tyre should last longer. I have a good feeling for the hard tyre so we need to find a good set up for the soft too."

Valentino Rossi  - 9th / 1'39.947 / 18 laps

"In the second practice the condition of the track improved a lot and already the lap time is very competitive. The big issue is the tyres, we have to decide on the rear and also the front. The first impression of the bike is not so bad although we have to work on the balance and the settings. The position is not fantastic but we are not very far from the top guys so tomorrow we will try to improve the feeling with the bike and also the lap time."

Massimo Meregalli

"This morning's practice was mostly about the riders putting rubber on the track. During second session we did enough hard work for today. Very importantly we were able to compare the extra hard and the medium tyres for the race. For sure we will get some more precise feedback tomorrow when the circuit will be in a better condition but so far we are satisfied with our results. Jorge has been consistently fast and Vale was able to climb up the time sheets whilst switching between different bike set ups. Tomorrow we will prepare new steps for P3 and I am confident that we will be at the sharp end of the field for qualifying and be ready for a good race."