Joan Mir finished sixteenth and Luca Marini seventeenth in the only dry session held on Friday. Although the Repsol Honda team riders were able to ride in the wet, Practice will be the first session on Saturday and will decide direct entry into Q2.
JOAN MIR – 16th
“It was a pretty unexpected start to the season; in MotoGP anything really can happen. Today is what it was, with the second session being wet there was only so much we could do. In the rain here, the spray with the dust and the sand makes it very difficult to see but it was nice to ride here in the wet for the first time. Let’s see what the weather will do for the next few days. We need to make the most of what will be a busy day tomorrow, doing the time attack and then straight into Qualifying. From the test we have a bit of an idea of what to expect, so let’s do our best.”
LUCA MARINI – 17th
“Today feels like a positive day, the gap felt lower than at the test and while the position has not improved it’s okay because we are focusing on improving the bike. Tomorrow morning, we will see the potential of the soft rear because we did not get to work on it too much and it’s something I think we need to improve with. It will be very intense all day tomorrow because all of the riders are so close, everyone is within a second. We found something today and I think that there is even more to come, it’s a good day when you close the gap during practice.”
