MotoGP BLOG: Friday at COTA Musings from a rain-soaked Circuit of The Americas track.

Dreary rain and gray sky reduced Moto3 morning practice to droning around the circuit at very conservative and unexciting angles of lean. Texans tell us that rain here can be episodic—heavy for a time, then drying up quickly, maybe by this afternoon? Fortunately, and for the moment, there isn’t enough standing water on the circuit to turn the rain-grooved wet tires into water pumps, throwing up clouds of spray dense enough to make bikes almost invisible. Some fans welcome rain, calling it “an equalizer.” But ask yourself how you’d feel, riding in a cloud of spray at 220 mph. Yes, it’s the same for everyone (another of the stock phrases trotted out to describe rain races), but that doesn’t make it good! SOGGY FIRST MOTOGP SESSION Because rain is predicted for Sunday, riders have to go out and work up their wet setups, but you could see their conservatism in early wet going as lean angles were in the moderate 40- to 45-degree range instead of the 55 to 63 seen in the dry. After a few “what have we here?” laps, lean angles increased a bit and you could see bikes making little slips on corner exits. What is a wet set-up? Suspension is made softer to cope with reduced tire grip. Wheels with wet tires and rain-suitable metal brake discs already fitted replace the carbon-carbon race discs and pads (rain cools carbon below best temperature of operation). Dry-break hydraulic connectors allow quick caliper changes. And engine control programs giving “softer” acceleration and control are substituted for harsher dry programs. Then a red flag was thrown for a collarless dog, loping casually across and then along the track. COTA: THE RAIN INTENSIFIES They must have caught the dog, for the session has resumed with even more rain—enough to nearly make bikes ahead invisible, and to cover camera lenses with a splatter of droplets. Marquez has slowly risen to the top of the order. Behind him are Danilo Petrucci, Yonny Hernandez, and Pol Espargaro, followed by Andrea Dovizioso. Glub, glub. Results, Free Practice 1

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Time/Gap
1	DOVIZIOSO Andrea	4	ITA	Ducati Team	2'19.402
2	MARQUEZ Marc	93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	2'19.864
3	REDDING Scott	45	GBR	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	2'20.487
4	ROSSI Valentino	46	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2'20.593
5	PETRUCCI Danilo	9	ITA	Pramac Racing	2'20.665
6	SMITH Bradley	38	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2'20.951
7	ESPARGARO Pol	44	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2'20.983
8	CRUTCHLOW Cal	35	GBR	CWM LCR Honda	2'21.300
9	LORENZO Jorge	99	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2'21.486
10	HERNANDEZ Yonny	68	COL	Pramac Racing	2'21.625
11	BAUTISTA Alvaro	19	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2'22.018
12	AOYAMA Hiroshi	7	JPN	Repsol Honda Team	2'22.387
13	MILLER Jack	43	AUS	CWM LCR Honda	2'22.391
14	BRADL Stefan	6	GER	Athina Forward Racing	2'22.498
15	HAYDEN Nicky	69	USA	Aspar MotoGP Team	2'22.542
16	ESPARGARO Aleix	41	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	2'22.571
17	DI MEGLIO Mike	63	FRA	Avintia Racing	2'22.663
18	BARBERA Hector	8	SPA	Avintia Racing	2'22.716
19	IANNONE Andrea	29	ITA	Ducati Team	2'22.741
20	BAZ Loris	76	FRA	Athina Forward Racing	2'24.178
21	LAVERTY Eugene	50	IRE	Aspar MotoGP Team	2'24.851
22	VINALES Maverick	25	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	2'25.024
23	MELANDRI Marco	33	ITA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2'25.141
24	DE ANGELIS Alex	15	RSM	Athina Forward Racing	2'25.160
25	ABRAHAM Karel	17	CZE	AB Motoracing	2'25.405

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