Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi came out fighting in today's two free practice sessions at the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo. The pair set a blistering pace from the outset and secured first and eighth place respectively in the combined session times.

This weekend holds great significance for Lorenzo, as it marks his last appearance for Yamaha. The Mallorcan is set on finishing his nine-year run on the YZR-M1 on a high and made his intentions clear when he took over at the top of the leaderboard just 15 minutes into FP1 and held the position for a large part of the session. With a few further tweaks made to his bike's setting, he upped the pace at the end of FP1 and dropped a 1'31.045s to reclaim first place in the final minutes.

The local hero carried his speed straight into the afternoon session, leading from the start. When his rivals upped the pace at the end of FP2, Lorenzo didn't hesitate to respond. The last ten minutes then became a flurry of activity but the Spaniard had the last laugh when he delivered an impressive 1'30.463s, the first lap under the 1'31 mark of the weekend, to finish first in the combined times. He was 0.247s faster than his closest rival.

Rossi had a less than desirable start to the Valencia Grand Prix. Unable to complete his out lap due to technical issues he returned to the pit box. Putting the small detour through the paddock behind him, the Doctor was back on his way on his second bike a quick ten minutes later to start his quest for the perfect setting. He consistently improved his pace when switching back to his first bike and wrapped up the session in second place, 0.387s behind his teammate, with a 1'31.432s lap.

Rossi got straight down to business in the second practice, holding third on the timesheets for most of the session whilst working on improving the feeling with the bike with the harder tyres. In the final stages of FP2 he was sitting in fifth place when the lap times tumbled. The Italian was able to better his morning time when he put in the softer option and finished in eighth place in the combined times with a 1'31.257s, 0.794s behind his teammate.

Massimo Meregalli - Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"Today has been mixed for us. On the one hand we can be very satisfied that we are leading the way with Jorge since FP1. He is determined to make this weekend unforgettable and he's already working in the right direction with his bike's set-up and he looked very confident during the runs. Valentino had an issue with his bike this morning, so we lost some valuable time there, which partly affected their schedule. Vale started well in the morning and took second place, but in the afternoon he suffered from a lack of grip at the beginning of FP2 with the harder rear tyre and was unable to ride the way he wanted. When he put in the softer option his feeling improved. For sure they are going to work and better the areas where he suffered and we are confident we can make another step for tomorrow's FP3."


Jorge Lorenzo - 1st / 1'30.463 / 38 laps

"I feel very good and I think the tarmac has a lot of grip. Michelin brought very good tyres for the front and the rear. We tried the new front and it's different; it has more movability in the corner and the rear has a lot of grip and it warms up quickly. I felt good with it. Finally we put in the soft rear tyre to see if it is possible and better to use for qualifying and we saw that it's clearly better than the hard one and I set a good lap time, so I'm satisfied. For the moment we have started the last weekend with Yamaha in the best way possible: first and first. Marquez is very strong too and Viñales is very fast as well, it will be very close on Sunday if it's a dry race, but we are not sure because the weather is uncertain."

Valentino Rossi - 8th / 1'31.257 / 41 laps

"We had a small problem in the bike but it's OK. We just stopped to not create any bigger problems, but it's good. This morning at the end of practice it wasn't so bad, I finished in second place. In the afternoon I had a problem, because we tried the harder tyres that are supposed to be the tyres for the race, but I didn't have grip and I wasn't fast enough. At the end I put in the soft and improved my lap time, but anyway the balance of the bike is not OK, I'm not happy with the setting so we have to work and try to make it better."