MotoGP returned to business today with the first free practice session before the Portuguese GP. The Repsol rider Marc Márquez was once again one of the fastest in the 125cc category, and always among the leaders. At the end of the session he was 4th, six tenths ahead of the other Repsol team member, Esteve Rabat, who was 9th. Scott Redding`s first contact with this track was less positive, he was 20th, and even more so for Cameron Beaubier, 25th.
Practice was dominated by Julián Simón who was one second faster than the rider immediately behind him, Andrea Iannone. Márquez was less than two tenths off the pace, but he gradually lowered his times during the session as he improved the set up on his KTM bike. The Repsol rider is, however, aware that he will have to improve some more tomorrow especially on the final section of the circuit, where the vital few thousandths of a second that make a difference can be gained.
Esteve Rabat had a tougher time, and even though he slowly improved his times it was not until the very end of the session that he set a lap of 1 minute, 47.746. With less than 10 minutes left the Repsol rider stopped in the pits, in 12th place, and after changing several settings on his engine and putting new tyres on he went back out. But just one corner later his Aprilia stopped and he had to push his bike to the pits, he lost several minutes while the other riders continued to improve. His mechanics were able to solve the problem quickly and he went back out with just enough time to do a flying lap, and he ended in 9th place.
For his teammate, Scott Redding, the first day at the circuit of Estoril was more difficult. Engine problems on his Aprilia RSA conditioned his start but when it began to work better the chassis set up did not let him take the corners very easily, because the whole bike was vibrating. The Repsol rider finished 20th, five places ahead of the American Cameron Beaubier, who never felt very comfortable on the track either, especially on the complicated final section.
Marc Márquez, 1’47.131 secs, 25 laps, 105 km. >> Audio
“I think that it has been quite a good day and at the same time important, because getting back on the bike after a break is always difficult. On the first few laps I felt strange but with a bit of patience I found my pace. I felt quite comfortable, so I set out to maintain a pace where I could improve the set up, and in the end I set quite a good time. We are a bit behind the leader, but Julio [Simón] is very good at this circuit; tomorrow we will try to be closer to him. We still have one or two things to improve, as is normal on the first day. And, although it is not an excuse, some riders were here in the pre-season and had their data for the set up. As for the circuit, you set the fast times doing the final section well because it is the longest and most difficult part”.
Esteve Rabat, 1’47.746 secs, 24 laps, 100 km. >> Audio
“This was a positive day because I felt fine on the bike, and from the start I got some good sensations. At this circuit it is important to have a very agile bike that stays in its place well because as it is so narrow any mistake makes you go off line and you lose a lot of time. You also need a lot of acceleration and I think that we have all these characteristics. Today went well, I finished 9th, and the most important is I did it riding alone a lot of the time, not following anybody`s wheel. We have to polish a few things off and make another big effort tomorrow”.
Scott Redding, 1’48.511 secs, 25 laps, 105 km. >> Audio
“This was another tough day for me. At the beginning I had some engine problems and lost some time there, and when the bike began to work better I had some problems with the chassis. On a lot of corners the bike vibrated a lot. Really there is not a lot I can say because the bike got better and we did some laps trying to lower the time, but I had a bad time on the corners; tomorrow we will have to work hard to get the bike right”.
Cameron Beaubier, 1’50.198 secs, 25 laps, 105 km. >> Audio
“I did not feel very comfortable on the bike in the first session, like I had at other circuits, but bit by bit I got back into the swing of things and I tried to follow other riders. Tomorrow I will try to maintain a faster pace and bit by bit go faster. I really suffered on the final two sections, because it was hard trying to get the right line for the corners. We still have one day of practice to get things right for the race”.
