With last weekend’s information, NTS RW Racing GP hoped to have found a solution to make Bo Bendsneyder and Jesko Raffin feel more comfortable. However, on the first day of the Andalusian Grand Prix it turned out to be the wrong way. Both riders were no faster on the Jerez circuit, where it is extremely hot again. The entire team is working hard to find a solution within the existing package. The data from last weekend’s race was viewed and explored from all sides. Based on that, the machines of Bo Bendsneyder and Jesko Raffin were drastically changed, but practice turned out to be more complicated than the theory.
“It’s very difficult,” admitted NTS RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen. “The riders really do all they can, but if the set-up doesn’t give the rider the feeling he needs to open the throttle comfortably and confidently, he won’t be able to squeeze out that extra two or three tenths. It fit perfectly in Qatar, but we can’t find it here. It all has to be very precise, but so far luck is not on our side yet.”
With the 27th time for Bo Bendsneyder (1.43.204 of FP1) in the combined rankings and the 30th time for Jesko Raffin (1.43.863 of FP1) it will be difficult to force direct placement for Q2, but Janssen hasn’t given up hope. “The focus is now on Saturday morning, then it has to happen. If Bendsneyder can ride a lap time good enough for the top 14 in the cooler conditions (in the morning the tarmac temperature is around 40 degrees, in the afternoon it is well above 50 degrees) we have a chance. Certainly, that will be a challenge, but it is not impossible.”
Bo Bendsneyder: “We knew it was going to be difficult. After last weekend we changed the bike, but that didn’t work out well. The feeling with the front got less instead of better. For FP2 we went in a different direction and that was slightly better, but not enough. We think we understand which way to go, so I hope we can take that step tomorrow morning.”
Results FP2:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’41.992 |
| 2 | Marco BEZZECCHI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’42.073 |
| 3 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’42.132 |
| 4 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’42.235 |
| 5 | Sam LOWES | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’42.247 |
| 6 | Thomas LUTHI | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’42.301 |
| 7 | Jorge NAVARRO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 1’42.323 |
| 8 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’42.368 |
| 9 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Liqui Moly Intact GP | 1’42.488 |
| 10 | Nicolo BULEGA | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’42.504 |
| 11 | Remy GARDNER | Onexox TKKR SAG Team | 1’42.526 |
| 12 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Openbank Aspar Team Moto2 | 1’42.531 |
| 13 | Aron CANET | Openbank Aspar Team Moto2 | 1’42.567 |
| 14 | Xavi VIERGE | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’42.589 |
| 15 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’42.681 |
| 16 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’42.689 |
| 17 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’42.726 |
| 18 | Marcos RAMIREZ | Tennor American Racing | 1’42.769 |
| 19 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’42.830 |
| 20 | Edgar PONS | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’42.911 |
| 21 | Joe ROBERTS | Tennor American Racing | 1’43.069 |
| 22 | Jake DIXON | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’43.157 |
| 23 | Simone CORSI | MV Agusta Forward Racing | 1’43.232 |
| 24 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’43.362 |
| 25 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | Beta Tools Speed Up | 1’43.408 |
| 26 | Andi Farid IZDIHAR | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 1’43.672 |
| 27 | Hector GARZO | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’43.691 |
| 28 | Kasma DANIEL | Onexox TKKR SAG Team | 1’43.873 |
| 29 | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’43.889 |
| 30 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’44.354 |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com
