Navarro finishes ninth, a prudent Quartararo returns to action with nineteenth fastest time and Herrera fights flu for thirty-first.
The flyaway stage of the season got underway today with the first practice session at the Japanese circuit of Motegi. Jorge Navarro was the fastest of the three Repsol riders in Moto3. Twelfth this morning in the opening free practice session, Navarro took a step forward in the afternoon, lowering his times by half a second after completing 16 laps. His best time of the day was set in the afternoon –1:58.248– and took him to ninth place on the timesheets on day one.
Fabio Quartararo, still recovering from an injury to his right foot, faced this first day of practice with great care. The lack of recent activity, coupled with discomfort, did not allow him to ride easily in the first practice session, in which he placed twenty-fourth and was just over two seconds off the fastest time –set by Antonelli. In the second session he took a step forward, finishing nineteenth and 1.362s down on the Italian’s top time.
Maria Herrera, suffering from a bout of flu on her first visit to the Japanese circuit, finished thirty-fifth in the morning, more than 3.5 seconds off the best time. In the second session she lowered her times by almost 2 seconds and moved up to thirty-first.
Fabio Quartararo
19th – 1:58.862, 31 laps, 149 km
“I like the track, but in the first session when I turned to the right my leg bothered me and I preferred not to force things. In the second session I upped the pace and my foot responded better, but the pain continued. In addition, I have not been able to train at the highest level for a while and it showed. After five laps I felt a little tired, when normally I don’t feel like that until the last few laps. We must continue working and gradually we will improve.”
Jorge Navarro
9th – 1:58.248, 30 laps, 144 km
“We know that at this circuit, with the type of corners there are, it would take me some time to adapt. From the first free practice we took things calmly, working on trying to improve both my riding and the bike setup. This afternoon we took another step forward, but we still have many things to try for tomorrow. I feel very comfortable with the configuration of the geometry and the chassis we have used in recent races, but we have to improve the gear setup and engine braking to better handle the heavy braking required here, such as at Turns 5 and 11.”
Maria Herrera
31st – 1:59.463, 31 laps, 149 km
“In the first practice I did not feel comfortable, but it helped us to learn the track and find a good feeling with the bike. In the second session we took a step forward and I’m happy with this first day. We have to keep working because I think we can lower our times further. The track has a lot of hard braking and straights and, although that is not really my style, I like it and I think I can go fast here. I’ve never been to Japan before but I like it; here the people are very grateful and affectionate.”
