The Repsol Honda Team riders complete the first two Free Practices for the Dutch TT, in which Pol Espargaró is 19th and Stefan Bradl 24th.
The first day of action at Assen took place in the rain. In the morning, in FP1, the MotoGP riders had to take on a completely wet track, but in the afternoon, in FP2, the rain stopped and the surface began to dry out.
Pol Espargaró was the third fastest rider in FP1. In the afternoon, the Repsol Honda Team rider spent almost the entire session among the Top 5, but his best time of 1:34.834 would only be enough for 19th at the end.
Espargaró will have to improve on his time in FP3 if he wants to go straight into Q2.
Stefan Bradl was unable to get a good result in the first two practices. The stand-in Repsol Honda Team rider finished 24th overall, with a best lap of 1:35.951.
POL ESPARGARÓ – 19th 1’34.834
“In the morning we were able to do a good job. In the wet it is less physically demanding and we were able to ride in a decent way. I wasn’t feeling much pain because of this so I could be fast and was P3. In the afternoon I was riding well with wets but as soon as the track became dry, all the nerves and the tension I have in my ribs and back from the injury started to become a problem. I have a lot of pain in my ribs and in my back and finally we weren’t able to make a good result. I was not expecting to feel this bad, tonight we need to do everything we can to be ready for this weekend.”
STEFAN BRADL – 24th 1’35.951
“We had a crash at Turn 9 today, it wasn’t really a great day overall. In the morning it honestly wasn’t too bad and I was happy with where my speed was. In the afternoon as the track became dry, I tried to push a little bit more and lost the front. Luckily, I am physically OK but I don’t really understand why I crashed there which is frustrating. Tomorrow is a new day and the weather looks better, so we keep on working and trying to go faster.”
