The opening day of MotoGP practice at the Brno track was a steep learning curve for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat.

The Spanish rider encountered cooler than expected conditions for FP1 this morning, and with small rain spots falling intermittently in the opening 45-minute session, Rabat was 18th quickest on the timesheets and confident of improving his position this afternoon.

Warmer ambient temperatures meant improved conditions for FP2 and Rabat was able to improve his pace by almost a second to end the day with a personal best lap of 1.58.054

In a bid to speed up the complex process of helping Rabat master the fast and flowing Brno layout on a MotoGP machine, three Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS staff were dispatched trackside to observe where he can improve his performance on the 5.4km venue.

Rabat and his crew will now conduct a detailed analysis of the data gathered today to try and improve his speed in tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying, with better turning performance through Brno’s high-speed corners his main focus.

Rabat is the lone entrant for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS in round 11 of the 2016 World Championship after back and wrist injuries suffered five days ago in Austria meant Jack Miller was withdrawn from this weekend’a action.

Tito Rabat: 20th – 1’58.054
“Today was a difficult day. This morning I was happy with my performance and while I was able to improve my lap time this afternoon, it was clearly not enough compared to the rest. The important thing is we understand clearly what our main problem is. We solved some of my front-end issues with the bike last week in Austria but unfortunately today they returned. It is very easy to explain but very difficult to solve it. But I understand that the problem doesn’t only come from the setting. I have to improve myself too but at the moment I can’t turn. When I release the brake and turn I don’t make the corner like the rest. We will try and improve for tomorrow and I am sure I can be fast, but right now we are struggling to find the solution.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It was important to see Tito make a good improvement this afternoon but we still need to take another significant step tomorrow.  Tito is still learning how to extract the maximum potential out of the bike at this track and it is not an easy place to get to grips with on a MotoGP machine. I think he did a decent job today but he has to understand more how to use the bike in a better way to be faster. And we need to try and improve the set-up from our side to help him be more competitive.”