Reigning World Champion heads dry morning session with Pedrosa third, just 0.052s behind. Duo fastest two riders in wet conditions in the afternoon.
It was a varied Friday for Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa on the opening day of the Czech Republic Grand Prix. In a first practice session held in the dry, Marquez was fastest with Pedrosa third, only 0.052s behind. Jorge Lorenzo was the rider to split the Repsol Honda pair on the timesheet. In the second session the duo were third and fourth, respectively, and the quickest two in wet conditions after a brief downpour on the second lap.
Based on his performance on the first day at Brno, Marquez continues to set the pace in MotoGP but has several close challengers. Lorenzo and Pedrosa were two such riders, and the three were the top trio in FP1. Just 0.037s separated timesheet-topping Marquez and Lorenzo, with Pedrosa a further 0.015s back.
Rain altered plans in the second practice session. When the majority of the field had completed only their first lap of the afternoon, it started to rain and all except Iannone and Barbera headed to the pits. That pair set the two best times of the session, but in reality it was a wet FP2 which enabled the riders to adjust to different conditions. With the surface completely wet, the riders went back out on track and it was Marquez and Pedrosa who were most impressive under the new circumstances. They were separated by only 0.002s as they placed third and fourth, almost a second ahead of the next best wet weather rider, Valentino Rossi.
Tomorrow sees the second day of practice and, although the weather is expected again to be unstable, forecasted storms are not expected to arrive until after the qualifying sessions.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
1st – 1:56.803, 29 laps, 157 km.
“I am happy with how the practices went today as the track has changed substantially compared with how it was when we tested here. I expected this, and we adapted our setup accordingly in the sessions –although I am still not entirely satisfied. In the afternoon when the track was wet –especially at the start of FP2– I was able to lap consistently and I felt good which is important. We will see what the weather is like tomorrow and if we can have a good qualifying session”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
3rd – 1:56.855, 30 laps, 162 km.
“Today went well for us. We had one practice in the dry and the other in wet conditions, and I think that overall we need more dry track time in order to be able to test out different tyres and setups. It’s been a good day and we can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow”.
