Repsol Honda team riders make progress in first two practice sessions for Australian GP.
Just four days after Marc Marquez clinched his second MotoGP World Championship –his fourth in all classes– the Repsol Honda team riders returned to work. Today was the first day of practice for the Australian Grand Prix, in which the newly-crowned champion finished third in the combined timesheet and his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, was tenth.
Amidst sunshine and warm temperatures, Marquez and Pedrosa were able to begin setting up their bikes for the Phillip Island circuit which is very demanding on tyres. In the first session Marquez was fifth, three tenths off top man Aleix Espargaro, but he was able to cut nearly three tenths off his morning time in the second session to complete the day third with a 1:29.752. He was 0.150s down on Jorge Lorenzo, the fastest rider on Friday. On the other side of the garage, Pedrosa was ninth in the first session and tenth in the second, despite improving almost 4 tenths in the afternoon. He ended the day with a time of 1:30.289, 6 tenths slower than Lorenzo.
Saturday sees the second day of practice and Sunday the sixteenth race of the MotoGP World Championship season.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
3rd, 1:29.752 Sec., 39 Laps, 173 km
“Today we focused on working with the new tyres that Bridgestone have brought for this circuit, which are totally different from what we have used for the rest of the year. This is also a circuit that requires a very exact setup, because it has some very fast corners. In the afternoon practice session we took a step forward and I felt much better on the bike, but I think we have to keep working because there are still things that we can improve. However, the feeling is very good and I think it has been a positive day”.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
10th, 1:30.289 Sec., 42 Laps, 187 km
“Today didn’t go entirely well for us. It was difficult to find grip with the new compounds that Bridgestone have given us and we struggled especially with the rear. Tomorrow we have to work to the maximum on the setup to see if we can make better use of this tyre and move up positions on the timesheets”.
