Loi happy to be on the bike again after long journey

Being on his Honda again was a real joy for Livio Loi, after it took RW Racing GP - like many other teams - over three days to get to Austin. The long journey didn’t bother anymore once it was Friday morning 9.00 local time. Loi had two good practices and in the end of the first day of the GP of the Americas found himself in eleventh place with a decent 2.17,270.

Bad weather on Monday was the reason the flight for half the paddock from Tucuman to Buenos Aires was cancelled. Everybody had to travel by bus for 8 hours on Tuesday to get to Cordoba and from there on take a plane to Buenos Aires on Wednesday. RW Racing GP only arrived in Austin on Thursday afternoon, all worn out from the long journey via Miami and Dallas.

Luckily it didn’t affect Livio Loi too much as he immediately picked up the pace in the first practice. Loi was in the top 6 all the time, finishing with a best lap time of 2.18,050.

In the second session it went faster from the start. Loi set a 2.17,270 in his final lap, good for eighth at the time, but a few riders ducked under his time and shuffled the Belgian back to eleventh. Only five riders managed to get under the 2.17.

“I think we can be satisfied,” RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen judged. “The final result doesn’t really represent the practices as Livio was in the top 6 for most of the time. This is a long track, with 20 corners and one little mistake can cost a lot. You have to be at precisely the right place at precisely the right moment to set a really good lap time. That will be the main goal for tomorrow.”

Livio Loi - 11 (2.17,270)

“In the last run I had a bit of trouble with the rear tyre and so I couldn’t ride the laps I wanted to. Still I was able to improve, but there had been more in it for sure. Yet it was quite a good day. I have a good feeling with the bike and I’m in the top group most of the time. Tomorrow we have to add a little extra and focus on being in the right place at the right time. That is certainly not an easy task at this track. You can win a lot by being in the right group, and lose a lot when you are not.”

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