Repsol Honda Team rider finishes crash-filled free practices for Italian Grand Prix 0.483 thousandths of a second off the top time, with Pedrosa in fourteenth position.
The World Championship leader completed the first practice session in Mugello in sixth position and improved by eight tenths in FP2, which he ended in third place with a time of 1:47.218.
Márquez crashed when he lost front grip entering Turn 4. entering curve 4. The second half of the session was interrupted twice by red flags, due to a fall for Michelle Pirro and an engine breakdown for Andrea Dovizioso.
Dani Pedrosa improved by 0.745s between the first and second free practice, stopping the clock with a best time of 1:47.924.
MARC MÁRQUEZ | 3rd 1’47.218
“Mugello is a track where we usually struggle, but we’re right there in third place. Our pace isn’t bad either, so we look at these positives and will see tomorrow if we’re able to improve further. Honestly, we were expecting to struggle a bit with the front tyre if temperatures were higher compared to the test, as was the case today, because the hardest compound is still a bit too soft for us. That said, I think we still have some margin for improvement. Besides, generally speaking, we’ve worked well and have improved our lap time quite a bit from the morning; tomorrow we’ll try and continue on this positive path. Finally, I’d like to add that I hope Michele [Pirro] gets well and comes back soon.”
DANI PEDROSA | 14th 1’47.924
“It was a tough day because I wasn’t able to find a good feeling with rear, as I struggled a lot with lack of grip. We tried several tyres and also a few different suspension settings, but we couldn’t manage to improve grip. We have to understand if it’s something we must improve in the bike’s setup or if the situation is more related to the track conditions, but whatever the case, tomorrow it will be important to keep our concentration high, work well, and try and solve this matter in view of qualifying and the race.”
