Rain interrupts qualifying and Marquez and Rins place third and seventh, respectively in session concluded 15 minutes ahead of time.
Alex Marquez and Alex Rins took a step forward on the second day of practice for the German Grand Prix which saw the starting grid for the ninth race of the year decided in qualifying. The winner of the last two races, Alex Marquez, placed third despite the arrival of rain in the last third of the session. Teammate Alex Rins, was seventh when the first drops started to fall and tomorrow will lead off the third row.
Both Repsol Moto3 riders improved their feeling on the second day at the Sachsenring. Rins crashed on his first flying lap at the fast right-hander Turn 11, but after repairs to his bike in the garage he went back out on track and placed twelfth. Marquez was ninth in the session.
In qualifying both managed to improve their previous best times from the weekend on their first laps. Before the last stint with new tyres and with over 15 minutes to go in the session, Marquez had stopped the clock at 1’27.143, placing him third at 0.146s off poleman Jack Miller – 0.037s behind Alexis Masbou. Rins was seventh after setting a 1’27.585 lap, but immediately after it started to rain enough to compromise grip and prevent improvement of times.
Marquez and Rins will take on the ninth race of the year tomorrow, as the season reaches its halfway point just before the summer break.
Alex Rins >> Audio >
7th, 1:27.585 sec , 25 laps, 92 km
“Today was a bit like at Assen, in that we struggled a bit to adapt the bike to the circuit, but little by little we improved. Since yesterday we have been trying different settings and seeing how to improve. I think today I didn’t have very good luck, because I suffered a crash in the morning at Turn 10 and, in the afternoon when I put on the new tyre on, I got caught up in a lot of traffic on the track and couldn’t improve more. I’m not too unhappy with seventh place. Tomorrow I’ll try to make a good start and make sure that the frontrunners do not escape”.
Alex Marquez >> Audio
3rd, 1:27.143 sec, 37 laps, 136 km
“In the morning practice we were in the same way as yesterday afternoon. We improved a lot in the afternoon, not only with the fastest lap for us, but because we also managed to set a good pace -which is important for tomorrow. As for the bike, today it was all much easier and I’m very happy. Miller may have a little more pace than us, but we are starting from the front row and if we do well, I think we can latch onto him”.
