Today, Friday, at 8:00 PM (5:00 PM GMT), the Losail circuit in Qatar was the scenario of the first practice session of the Qatar Grand Prix, starting the 2010 season of the MotoGP World Championship. At this time, the riders in the lowest of the three categories officially inaugurated the season, with Repsol rider Marc Márquez among the leading players in this first session.
After demonstrating that he is one of the fastest riders in his class during the winter pre-season, Márquez also started the year among the most competitive, riding in first place in the second half of the session. However, the young Repsol rider, well advised by Emilio Alzamora, approached the first session with a lot of caution, as Marc had not ridden on this track since last year and never on his new machine.
After warming up the tyres and making sure that everything was working properly on his machine, Márquez gradually picked up the pace until he positioned himself in the top section of the timesheets. With just two minutes to go, Márquez was at the top of the timesheets but his fellow Spaniards, firstly Espargaró and then Vázquez, beat him in the last few moments, finishing in a good third place.
With this result, Márquez and his team will continue working and analyse the data gathered in the first session to prepare for tomorrow.
Marc Márquez, 2.07’592 sec, 22 laps, 118 KM >> Audio
“I was a little nervous to start with – because it was the first official practice of the first Grand Prix of the year -, although I managed to keep fairly calm and do a good job. Obviously, we’ll have to improve tomorrow because today was the first practice on a new circuit, where I haven’t been on this bike before. It was quite difficult at the beginning but I think that we can improve tomorrow because there is a problem that I’m sure we’ll fix. I’m sure that things will change tomorrow and other riders will improve because in the Friday practices there are always people who have more problems adapting and getting the initial setup right. I fought with the riders in front until the last second, which is what it’s about but obviously, as it’s Friday, it’s not important whether you come first or tenth, what is important is to get used to the track and pick up the pace. What really counts is Sunday and we have to take it step by step”.
