First day of practice in Argentina concludes with reigning MotoGP World Champion third fastest. Teammate Hiroshi Aoyama places twenty-first on the timesheet.
Marc Marquez made a good start to the third round of the MotoGP season, the Grand Prix of Argentina. The first two practice sessions were hindered by the low grip level of the asphalt at Termas de Rio Hondo, but Marquez would clock the third fastest time of the day –behind early pace setter Aleix Espargaro. On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team box, Hiroshi Aoyama ended the day in twenty-first position.
The first session began after a brief moment of uncertainty, caused by a fault with the track access light. The initial outing did little to clean the asphalt on a circuit used just once a year. On the largely irrelevant timesheet, Marquez was tenth and Aoyama twenty-third. In the second session the reigning World Champion improved his best time by more than three seconds, to finish third with a time of 1:39.336. Two seconds behind was Aoyama, with a best lap of 1:41.380, in twenty-first.
Tomorrow sees the second day of the Grand Prix weekend, with two free practice sessions and the all-important qualifying session to decide the grid for the Grand Prix of Argentina.
Marc Marquez
3rd | 1:39.336 | 29 laps | 139 km.
“I’m pretty happy today even if the track was not in the best condition. In the first session I was sliding around a lot, but in FP2 it was better. Things are gradually improving and we felt progressively more comfortable. I think the key to this weekend will be understanding the evolution of the grip level of the track, and adapting the setup to the changes. But the important thing is that we were able to go out and ride, and we are already at a good level.”
Hiroshi Aoyama
21st | 1:41.380 | 36 laps | 173 km
“This morning and this afternoon have been difficult for me on the bike. I wasn’t able to get a good feeling or feedback on the bike due to the conditions. FP2 was a little better and we were able to go faster but the position didn’t change that much. It’s not the best way to start this first day but we will analyse the data tonight and try to improve tomorrow.”
