The Repsol rider rider classified in second position. Rabat & Redding start on the third row, and Cameron Beaubier, with a lot of technical problems, from the seventh
The sun finally came out for the second day of free practice in preparation for the British GP, and the results were very positive for the Repsol riders, particularly for Marc Márquez who is on the front row of tomorrow`s grid. Esteve Rabat, who set the fastest time yesterday, and Scott Redding, racing on home soil, will start from 9th and 10th places, respectively. Cameron Beaubier had a more complicated session after a fall at the start of the session and an electrical problem relegated him to the back of the field, 27th position.
Tomorrow`s race, the last ever at Donington Park as the British GP returns to Silverstone next year, will see Marc Márquez once again in a position to fight for the victory. After slightly adjusting the set up on his KTM, the Repsol rider was in the fight for the pole position, this in the end went to the local rider Bradley Smith who was 131 thousandths faster.
Esteve Rabat was not able to repeat yesterday`s performance, he was the fastest in the dry and 3rd in the wet on Friday, and today he had to make do with 9th position. The Repsol rider demonstrated that he was riding comfortably on the Donington Park track, especially on the corners, but for tomorrow`s race he still needs to fine tune the set up on his engine.
His teammate Scott Redding, was 11th and the Briton got better as the day went on, gradually finding the best set up on his Aprilia RSA. Even so the Repsol rider hopes to improve the chassis and suspension settings for the second sector since that is the zone where he is losing most time to his rivals.
Cameron Beaubier had a much more difficult day after he fell on corner 8 where he braked too late and ended up in the gravel. It was on just his third lap but he was able to return to the pits without any problems, his KTM 125 FRR was checked and he went back out onto the track. However the American rider had a problem with the electrics that made him return to the pits two more times, and so was not able to pick up the pace and get a position closer to the front of the grid. He will start from the seventh row tomorrow in 27th position.
Marc Márquez, 1’37.573 secs, 39 laps, 157 km. Audio
“The classification went very well, and starting on the front row is very positive because the track ahead of you is much clearer. At the start of the practice I had not thought about were I could realistically finish, because the set up we had this morning was not very clear and I was not that comfortable on the bike. We changed the set up quite a bit so that I could get more confidence when braking and when taking corners, and it turned out well. As soon as I put new tyres on I felt very comfortable and I was able to push the bike to get a faster pace, riding on my own.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’38. 471 secs, 37 laps, 149 km. Audio
“This is turning out to be a very positive weekend. In the classification I had a little problem with the engine, but regarding the chassis I am very pleased. The communication with my team is also very positive, we are working together as a team more and more, and that gives me more self-confidence. We have things decided about the set up we will use tomorrow, as well as the tyres if it does not rain, and I hope that I get a good start that allows me to be up with the leading group.”
Scott Redding, 1’38.501 secs, 37 laps, 149 km. Audio
“Classification did not go too badly. We were able to improve the suspension set up compared to the morning session and the bike went better. But we have some problems on the second sector, because I can`t change the steering as fast as I should be able to.
We will have to work on that and see what we can do for the race, or go faster at other points and recover what we lose on the second sector. Right now we cannot do anything else, work to get it right and do the best we can tomorrow.”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’40.509 secs, 27 laps, 109 km. >> Audio
“This was an awful day for me. On the third lap I braked too late on the corner after the back straight and I went into the gravel and I fell. Later I tried to pick up a good pace but I got into a group where we just interfered with each other, and I was not able to improve much. And in the end I had a problem with the electrics that made me stop twice.
I went out onto the track and I discovered that the engine was not working right so I stopped and the mechanics tried to repair it. I went back out with 5 minutes left, but I had to stop again. Tomorrow I will have to make a good start and fight to overtake the riders in front of me.”
