Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi began the Iveco Daily TT Assen outside the free practice top three on Thursday.

Both riders were quick to find their pace in the morning session, enjoying what is a favourite circuit for the two. Lorenzo and Rossi were consistently among the fastest riders in the session, ending with Lorenzo third, 0.206s from P1 and Rossi sixth, 0.444s from the front.

The afternoon practice saw more of the same from Lorenzo, the Spanish rider consistently in the top four and wrapping up the final practice of the day in fourth in the combined times, 0.495s off the pace.

His teammate Rossi worked on two different settings in the afternoon session and he ended the day in seventh in the combined times, 0.633s from the top spot.

Lorenzo reflected,

“This morning with low temperatures and a soft front tyre we didn't have any problems but in the afternoon we found some issues. We don't have enough weight on the front so for tomorrow we will try to put more on to solve this problem without compromising the rear. We’ve made the bike more stable to improve the pace but it’s still not perfect, we need to make further adjustments to make some tenths.”

The Mallorcan added,

“Let's see if the weather stays the same so we can solve the problems. The bike is a little better, I was expecting more but we still have to work on it. I hope the sunshine stays as we need to find two or three tenths more.”

Rossi said,

“I’m just in seventh place but we are all very close. I’m not so bad, especially in the last exit we modified the bike and I was able to improve my lap time, which is positive. We have to work a lot because after three or four laps the rear starts to move a lot and we have to slow the rhythm. For tomorrow this is the target, to improve the bike, especially the rear to use the tyres and get ready for qualifying so we can start in the top five.”



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