Impeccable start for Repsol Honda Team riders on first day of practice for Aragon Grand Prix with Pedrosa and Marquez placing first and second.
The fourteenth round of the MotoGP season started brightly for the Repsol Honda Team, with the winner of the most recent race, Dani Pedrosa, topping the timesheets at MotorLand Aragon. Just behind, in second, was teammate and World Championship leader Marc Marquez. Pedrosa was eleventh in the first practice session, and took a further step forward in FP2 to conclude the day with a best time of 1:48.429. Just 0.065s slower was Marquez, who had led the morning session and ended Friday with a top lap of 1:48.494.
Marc Marquez
2nd, 1:48.494 >> Audio
“Today went rather well. Aragon has always been a good track for me, and it suits my riding style. Following our plan, we focused on working with the race in mind and had some good luck in that it didn’t rain in the end. Our work went well, and on the last stint I ran a new hard tyre that allowed me to set a fast time and put in some consecutive laps while also setting a good pace. We still need to understand a few things, like how the softer rear tyre drops off, because everyone suffers with grip here. We also need to finish off trying out the front tyres, because we haven’t been able to use the extra-hard too much. I’m happy with how things have gone in general. Finally, I wish to congratulate my mechanic Ujino-san, who remained in Japan for this race as he became a father a few days ago!.”
Dani Pedrosa
1st, 1:48.429 >> Audio
“Obviously, I’m happy with first place even if it was a bit of a strange day. The sun never came out and we didn’t have the higher temperatures we had expected, which meant that I never quite felt totally comfortable. Anyway, we worked well and improved a lot in the afternoon. We focused on testing tyres, trying to use them all, but we have one left to test. For the rear, for example, both the hard and the medium compounds are good choices, but we still have to see how the track will change. We’re continuing to try to keep the pace and concentration up in every exit, step by step. Our goal for tomorrow is to have a good qualifying session.”
