There were conflicting emotions on the two sides of the Team Alstare Suzuki garage as day two of the Qatar group test drew to a close, with
Fonsi Nieto and
Yukio Kagayama reflecting their respective programmes.
Conditions at the Losail circuit were better than on the opening day, after the wind lessened in strength and deposited less dust and sand across the track. Although speeds were up, however, only Nieto was happy with his lap time.
The Spaniard started the day with the set-up from Wednesday morning and continued with it as he spent both morning and afternoon familiarising himself further with the bike and the effect of changes made to it.
"I am very happy today because I improved my lap time by one-and-a-half seconds even though I was really using the day to continue my learning process," Nieto, who posted a 1min 59.6secs best, commented, "For me, there is a lot to learn about this bike and I really want to get comfortable on it and get a good feeling for it before pushing hard.
"Lap times are not important to me at this stage because it's more important that the bike and I get on well. All the team is helping me in this matter and they're all doing a great job helping me to progress as quickly as I am. I'm still at the stage of adapting the bike to my riding style but, each time I get on it, I learn a bit more, so it's all progress. So far, we haven't had any chance to test any tyres but, tomorrow, we'll do that and, if the weather is good, I'm sure I'll go even quicker."
Kagayama, meanwhile, was less happy, having been confined to testing and developing new systems, and working hard with his crew to identify which ideas worked and which did not. Because of this, he, like Nieto, didn't bother to chase lap times, but admitted that he was frustrated with not being able to show his true potential after lapping eighth fastest in 2min 00.9secs.
