World Championship leader heads timesheets on first day of practice following the summer break, with Dani Pedrosa fifth fastest.
MotoGP action returned on Friday at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to celebrate the tenth round of the 2014 season. The winner of the opening nine races of the campaign was again at his best. Marc Marquez was the fastest man of the day at the American track, with Dani Pedrosa gradually improving to end the day in fifth place.
The return from a brief break brought with it few surprises in the premier class of the World Championship, and after the first two practice sessions for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Marc Marquez was the man with the fastest time of the day. Following 18 laps in the first session –putting him fifth– the Repsol Honda Team rider completed 19 in the second outing and stopped the clock at 1:32.882. That placed him top of the timesheets.
On the other side of the garage, Dani Pedrosa finished the first session in sixteenth place, riding the entire 45-minute session with just one set of tyres. The rubber understandably ended up severely degrading. In the second session, after 18 laps, the man currently second in the World Championship set the fifth fastest time of the day: 1:33.493.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
1st – 1:32.882, 37 laps, 154 km
“Overall today went pretty well and after the holidays it is always important to pick back up the pace and regain confidence on the bike. We could also test out the new track surface today; now there are almost no bumps and it seems that the grip has also improved from last year. In terms of the layout, perhaps the previous one suited us a bit better but this one is more natural and more fun. We were also able to try out the hard and soft rear tyres, gathering data that we will review to make further improvements. We’re happy with how today went and how we’ve progressed”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
5th – 1:33.493, 35 laps, 146 km
“We were able to progress a lot in the afternoon and tried out all the tyres, but we still need to work to see what the pace will be like and find the limits of the track. Today the track condition improved the more laps we all put in, because the asphalt cleaned up and gave us much more grip. Tomorrow we will work on finding the limits and getting a good tyre combination for Sunday’s race. I don’t like this new layout as much; it seems less fun compared to the previous one, because we have three fewer places in which to overtake”.
