Remy Gardner does not believe that a special MotoGP rule for Phillip Island does in fact help to alleviate the effect of high winds at the circuit.
While the exception may be extended to other circuits as the need arises, this weekend thus represents the first genuine test at the venue which was its genesis.
Indeed, strong winds caused havoc at times on the opening day of the event, seemingly causing at least two of the five crashes or near-crashes in the opening four minutes of Moto2 Free Practice 1, and possibly more of them.
Notable also was that six riders broke the old circuit top speed record in MotoGP Free Practice 1, by as much as 1.5km/h, when a tailwind prevailed on Gardner Straight, yet Free Practice 2 was the faster session on a lap speed basis despite the best top speed being 1.1km/h down relative to the earlier hit-out.
The theory behind the special aero rule is that MotoGP bikes are more susceptible due to their various appendages, but Gardner believes they are still better than nothing.
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“We tried this morning [FP1] without the sidepods, but for me it was worse, to be honest,” declared the Tech3 KTM rider.
“The contact on the front wheel’s less, so the bike’s even more dancing on the front, which is not what you want.
“So, it probably is a bit more of a sail, but honestly, the amount of front contact you get, you can push on the front tyre harder, so it’s a bit more stable.
“So, it seems like more aero is better in the wind.”
Gardner was 20th in FP1 and 22nd in FP2, when every rider went faster than they had gone on the morning at a track where he expected a somewhat “terrifying” initiation.
The Sydneysider suggested both he and his team were caught out somewhat by the changeable conditions.
“It was good,” he said of his first experience of The Island on a MotoGP bike.
“This track’s really fun.
“It was pretty windy in FP2. FP1 was not bad, but we need to improve the bike after FP2 now that the track is more or less dry.
“But, quite windy; I was struggling quite a bit with the wind, to be honest, especially the crosswind.
“I didn’t manage to put a really good lap together, so our position’s not great, but I think we could have been probably top 18, 17, something like that.
“Hopefully we can find a bit better set-up for tomorrow and be better.”
Gardner has one last chance to earn a direct passage to Qualifying 2 when Free Practice 3 takes place this morning at 09:55 local time/AEDT.
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