Aegerter (18th) looking for a solution, Mulhauser (24th) needs to confirm tomorrow

The first day of free practice for the Italian Grand Prix on the beautiful circuit of Mugello located in the Toscan Mountains was eventful. The track was still wet to a large extent in the morning when the Moto2 class was out. And the gaps were insignificant this afternoon with twenty riders in less than a second on a circuit, where one needs a good tow for a perfect lap time; there were a lot of emotions. Although he is "far" in the classification with his twelfth time today, Thomas Lüthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) was only 359 thousandths off the provisional pole. Eighteenth Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten) was also within one second, while Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten) was classified 24th on this opening day. Frédéric Corminboeuf, the boss of the two Swiss teams, comments on the day: "Tom loses the most part of his 3 tenths in one sector only, sector number 3. This is the same for Dominique and we have to make adjustments for this part of the circuit. That said, considering that Lüthi had a big crash at the beginning of the week, he had a solid first day and we have to transform this impression into a better position on the starting grid tomorrow. Dominique struggled this morning; he improved throughout the day without, however, bringing with him to Mugello the good things we saw on Monday and Tuesday during a test in Misano. As in Le Mans, he struggles to enter corners comfortably. Robin also made a progress this afternoon; he was 24th, which is quite interesting but what I expect from him tomorrow is an improvement to a Top-20 position on the grid. Then he will be in a good group for the race and he can give us a nice surprise."

They said...

Dominique Aegerter (carXpert Interwetten, 18th) "The day wasn't easy. I did not manage to find the same feeling I had at the beginning of the week during the test in Misano. This morning I was far off. In the afternoon, for as long as I had grip at the rear, I was able to do two or three good laps but when the grip was gone, I wasn't able to correctly enter into corners, as in Le Mans. We changed many things and it is possible that we will start from the scratch tomorrow again. Are we going to do the same as last year - Aegerter was on the front row of the grid! - where Tom helped us in qualifying to get slipstream on the main straight? Honestly I don't really have a plan, it depends on many things. Twelve months ago we were both in a good position and this time I am not sure if this will be the case this Saturday."

Robin Mulhauser (carXpert Interwetten, 24th) "The conditions were difficult today. I had to be careful this morning with the wet spots and in the afternoon there was quite a bit of wind at times. Moreover, I have a feeling that the track is more bumpy than in 2015. Compared to the Grand Prix of France and the test in Misano, we had to change the bike completely because the Mugello circuit is very different. I was close to the Top-20 with new tyres but I am still far from where I want to be - the Top-15. I am sure that I can get a good lap time in qualifying, with some slipstream, and I can have a better starting position than in the previous Grand Prix."