The Repsol rider finishes on top in two very close sessions
Good start for Márquez in Italy after his victory in Holland less than a week ago. Emilio Alzamora’s pupil, who had two testing days in Mugello last month, was able to take full advantage of that experience and today was very fast on the Italian track. Márquez set the fastest time in both free practice sessions of the Italian Grand Prix.
In the morning, during his first contact with Mugello’s tarmac, Marc was very strong from the beginning, reducing last year’s pole time in only half a dozen laps, being the first rider to go below the 1 minute 55 seconds mark. Second place was for Germany’s Stefan Bradl, leader of the overall standings.
Once the first free practice finished, in the afternoon some dark clouds covered the sky over the circuit and started to rain during the MotoGP session. Then it stopped raining and when Moto2 started the track was already dry. In this second free practice session, the Repsol rider was again the fastest in this hard-fought class, followed again by Bradl.
Always among the top ten in the classification, 5 minutes before the end he took the lead and, despite De Angelis and Bradl’s attacks, Márquez kept the first position until the end of the 45-minute session.
Marc Márquez >> Audio
FP1 – 1:53.701, 19 laps, 100 km.
FP2 – 1:53.241, 20 laps, 105 km.
“Truth is that we had a fairly good start and I am sure that the test we did two weeks ago helped me a lot to prepare, but tomorrow the rest of riders will improve without doubt and we also need to fine-tune some things. Track conditions had change a lot since the tests, as back then the tarmac was very slippery. Now, with the MotoGPs there is more rubber and the grip is much better. The times set are very fast and we are at a very good level. Tomorrow we will try to find some improvement, especially in the front of the bike and then we will need to be calmed and do our job; if we do it well, I am confident we will have a good starting position on Sunday”.
