Cal Crutchlow says he needs to improve his pace in the damp at Jerez after struggling in changeable conditions in the second MotoGP practice session and posting only the ninth fastest time of the session.
The Tech 3 Yamaha rider had made a strong start to the season in Qatar with a maiden front row start and fourth place in the race, but struggled with rear tire grip as MotoGP moved to Europe.
Crutchlow and teammate Andrea Dovizioso both elected not to run in first practice as the track was too dry for wet tires but not dry enough for slicks. Both riders chose to evaluate wet tires in the afternoon despite similar conditions.
"If we get more of the same conditions for the rest of the weekend then we have a lot of work to do. We struggled a little bit with a lack of rear grip and that is where we are going to have to work because we could be racing in similar conditions on Sunday," said Crutchlow.
Despite his issues, Crutchlow was satisfied with ninth position and still optimistic he can have another strong race.
"I am really happy with my position on the timesheets considering the problems and that makes me really confident that if we make the setting better I will be very competitive."
Dovizioso finished the session in seventh place, but said he had not been able to learn much from the day.
"It has been a day of pretty much constantly changing weather and track conditions and unfortunately that meant we were not able to try anything on the setup of the bike," he said.