Travel to Japan having been prevented in April due to the Icelandic volcanic cloud, finally the first free practice sessions of the Grand Prix started today, kicking off the Asiatic leg of the World Championships, in which Marc Márquez was again one of the fastest. The Repsol rider finished second in the first outing at the Japanese track, 203 milliseconds away from Nico Terol, who led the day.
Moving on quickly from the Aragón race, the Repsol rider was once again one of the fastest of the category. After a calm start, warming up the engine of his Derbi RSA, on his second outing onto the track, Márquez placed himself amongst the top spots along with the group of riders who, race after race, set the pace at each circuit. On a very dirty and slippery track, the times set today were far off the benchmark times, caution being exercised in this intense stage of the season.
The first sixty minutes of testing at the Motegi Circuit gave Márquez and his team the opportunity to begin to fine tune the set-up for the race, on a day which has become more important due to the rain which is expected from tomorrow. The Repsol rider completed 21 laps of the Japanese track, altering the configuration base – both the chassis and suspension of his Derbi- to the requirements of the track. Márquez stopped the clock with a best time of two minutes and 85 milliseconds.
Marc Márquez, 2’00.085 sec, 21 laps, 101 km. >> Audio
“I think the first day of practice in Japan has gone quite well. The most important thing is that we improved with every outing onto the track and each time I felt more comfortable with the bike, increasing my confidence on the track, which is a bit slippery. At the beginning we struggled a bit to find the right direction for the set-up but we were able to complete a good practice. Looking towards tomorrow and Sunday, the forecast is that the weather will be quite unsettled so, it was important to have a good practice in the dry. Anyway, whatever happens, we’ll try to fight for the win”.
