The first free practice session at the legendary circuit of Le Mans took place, to the surprise of everybody, on a dry track. In these conditions and with the new regulation that has extended its length to 60 minutes, the Repsol riders had their first, and positive contact with the asphalt, riding among the fastest 10. The session ended with Marc Márquez 7th, Esteve Rabat, 9th, Scott Redding, 11th, and Cameron Beaubier, 18th.
In spite of the rain in France over the last few days, which continued to fall lightly this morning, the riders in the 125cc category saw the sun come out at the beginning of the session, and after 10 minutes were able to use slicks for dry conditions. Marc Márquez improved his times gradually and finished with a time of 1’46.205 seconds, under a second behind the fastest rider Andrea Iannone. Alonside him in the pits, Cameron Beaubier got his first ever contact with the French track. The session ended with positive sensations for the young American who was 18th fastest.
Esteve Rabat also reported good sensations, riding alone almost the whole session. He concentrated on getting a good pace that will allow him to tackle the race with confidence, something that was missing two weeks ago in Jerez. In the end he was 9th, two tenths slower than his teammate Scott Redding, who also finished pleased with his performance on the first day of work in France. The Repsol rider had to change the chassis set up as the bike did not let him take corners in comfort, but after some adjustments he was gradually able to lower his times.
Tomorrow the riders have a second free practice session to round off their set ups and at 13:00 they will fight to get a good starting position on the grid during the 45 minute qualifying session.
Marc Márquez, 1’46.205 secs, 22 laps, 92 km. >> Audio
“I did quite well at this circuit last year, it was the first time I got into the leading group of ten. At the start of today´s session it was a bit complicated with the rain, but luckily the track dried out. And with the extension to one hour it has personally helped me a lot to set the bike up. This means you are calmer and you notice that, because at the end the adjustments were quite clear. I can ride fast, although at the same time I need to get a bit more confidence on this track. Tomorrow, in the second free practice session we will do a couple more tests so that we can set a good qualifying time.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’46.439 secs, 22 laps, 92 km. >> Audio
“I am very pleased, because today the team worked very well. I had some good sensations from the chassis and the engine. On this circuit the chassis set up is very important, because it lets you brake strongly and turn the bike in the middle of a corner. It has to allow you to accelerate strongly with the bike firmly steered so that you do not go off on the corner. The bike was fast and I felt confident, so we did a good session. I was always riding alone, finding my own pace amd tomorrow we will work to take another step forward.”
Scott Redding, 1’46.675 secs, 22 laps, 92 km. >> Audio
“The morning went quite well. We used a single set of tyres for the whole session, they worked well and this makes us think we have a good set up for the race. It seemed that the weather was not going to be so good, but the track dried out for the session and we were able to ride without any problems, adjusting the set up on the bike as we went along. The bike is going better than in Jerez, so I am pleased with that. I had some problem with the front end when braking, but we fixed that. The back end was not too bad, and I think we can do some good work tomorrow with what we have got. Having one whole hour is much better, becaue as long as you do not fall you can take your own time and make some changes. I hope that the weather is the same as today´s.”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’47.644 secs, 25 laps, 105 km. >> Audio
“Up to now I quite like this circuit. It is very technical at certain points and quite easy in others. In general, I have good sensations and I can ride quite comfortably. At the beginning of the session the track was a bit wet, but the sun came out and it was dry. I began to pick up the pace of the other riders, so for the time being I am pleased. The set up is good, although we will have to work on some things in the afternoon so that we can improve tomorrow.”
