The second day of the San Marino y la Ribera de Rímini GP saw the Repsol riders take an important step forward compared to yesterday. After refining the set up on their bikes, Márquez, Rabat, Redding & Beaubier, improved their laps times in the classification session, at the same time moving up the ranking to start in 7th, 12th, 14th and 28th positions.
The fastest of these was Márquez, who was just under half second behind the pole position set by Bradley Smith, but who had a much faster pace in general. He set lap after lap of 1 minute 44 seconds, but will have to improve the sensations from the rear wheel if he is to stay up with the leaders in tomorrow`s race.
His teammate Cameron Beaubier, even though he finished in a disappointing 28th position, was encouraged by his constant improvements on the track, and by the small differences between him and his rivals. At the end of the session, there were 29 riders within one second of each other, something that proves that it was very competitive on the Misano asphalt today.
Esteve Rabat & Scott Redding were also to be found in that battle. The Spaniard will close the third row with the satisfaction of knowing that he is in a much better place than in previous races. The Repsol rider concentrated on getting the set up right, then with confidence in his engine and riding alone Rabat found a fast consistent pace. A few small mistakes did not let him get a better position but he is optimistic after the difficulties encountered in previous races.
His teammate, Scott Redding, had more difficulties finding the good pace he has shown in practice for previous races, but he gradually got a better set up and was able to ride more comfortably. At the end on his final visit to the track he went off the track with a new tyre, a couple more mistakes meant that he could not move up the leaderboard and get a better position on tomorrow`s grid.
Marc Márquez, 1’44.179 secs, 37 laps >> Audio
“Today we improved on what we did yesterday, above all concerning the set up, which let me ride comfortably. We still have some things to improve for the warm-up, but from the very moment I went out on the track I felt more comfortable. At the end I found a good reference and that helped me lower my time, but riding alone I also have a good pace. We have to put the final touches to the bike so that we can do laps of low 1’44s more regularly, but we will try to get a good start and stay with the leading group. We are much better, above all with the chassis set up and some things that we tried with the seat. We will try to improve my riding position, but it does not really convince us, so tomorrow we will have to use the old one”.
Esteve Rabat, 1’45.157 secs, 35 laps >> Audio
“This was a difficult day, but positive because two races ago we found a set up that really works well. In spite of my weight it is one of the fastest bikes on the grid, and I am very pleased with that. Regarding the chassis, we have a good set up, although I do not have as much confidence as I would like in the front end, so that I could be more aggressive. I always have the feeling that it is going to slide, that means we do not go so fast. We have decided on the race tyres, as well as the gear ratios, but we still have to refine the suspension a bit more.”
Scott Redding, 1’45.213 secs, 37 laps >> Audio
“Things did not go too badly. It was hot again and we tried some different things from yesterday to try and improve. At the final moment we mounted a new tyre to try and lower the time and we also changed the suspension a little, and that stopped us from doing one more lap. On my flying lap I made a mistake on the third sector, that made me lose a bit of time. It is hard to say what will happen tomorrow because we do not really have a good set up, so we will have to go flat out and see what happens. We can be nearer the front and we will do all we can to get there.”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’45.971 secs, 36 laps >> Audio
“This morning was quite complicated, and it took me some time to lower my times, but this afternoon they were much better. The grid position is not very good because all the times are very close together. We will try to do a good warm-up, and in the race fight with all those riders. I think I am well-prepared but the truth is that I am far down the field, but almost 20 riders are within one second of each other, so I will try to get a good start and fight to be towards the front.”
