Repsol rider leads the first practice session, with Marquez fourth. In wet afternoon conditions after heavy rain, Marquez and Pedrosa place second and third, respectively.
The first day of the Malaysian Grand Prix featured two very different sessions: in the first –held in the dry– Dani Pedrosa took the fastest time, with Marc Marquez fourth. A downpour moments before starting the second free practice session meant the track was waterlogged and the session was undertaken in wet conditions. In this runout Marquez finished second, with Pedrosa in third place.
The winner of the race in Sepang for the past two seasons, Dani Pedrosa, started the weekend strongly. He completed 16 laps in the morning, with a best time of 2:01.379. He was 0.291s faster than Marquez, who after 15 laps finished fourth.
The second session was affected by a short but intense downpour typical of the tropical climate in Malaysia. Despite a short delay, the riders were able to finally get out on track and undertake the second free practice session with wet tyres. Marquez was second, 0.242s off Jorge Lorenzo, and Pedrosa was third –just over a second down on the fastest time.
Tomorrow sees the second day of practice, with the qualifying session for the Malaysian GP the main course of the day.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
4th, 2:01.670 Sec., 28 Laps, 150 km
“I felt pretty good and comfortable in the morning, we had a small problem, but that has now been resolved. This afternoon we rode in wet conditions and the feeling was also good. It was positive, because now we have references for a wet setup if it rains on Sunday. We hope it is dry again tomorrow, so that we can keep developing the setup of our bike and have every possible reference for the race.”
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
1st, 2:01.379 Sec., 28 Laps, 155 km
“We were able to ride in the dry this morning and set some good times, but in the afternoon the rain arrived. We shall see what the weather is like tomorrow, and hope to get more dry track time to finish analysing the performance of the front and rear tyres. We only used the soft compound this morning and we would like to try the harder compound. I had a problem with the wet rear, which had hardly any tyre wear after 14 laps, but no grip from the beginning. We hope to continue developing the setup of the bike tomorrow and be able to ride with a tyre that works well.”
