Handling difficult conditions at Le Mans, the Repsol Honda Team riders completed their first day of practice with Álex Márquez in sixth position and Stefan Bradl in 27th.
Márquez placed sixth on a Friday affected by rain and cold. The Spanish rider set a time of 1:35.337 in the afternoon, improving on his best lap from the morning.
Stand-in teammate Stefan Bradl set the 27th fastest time, a 1:36.478. Due to fatigue from the two days of testing in Portimao this week and the rain that fell during the morning practice, the German only participated in the second session of the day.
An improvement in the weather conditions is expected for tomorrow, with qualifying forecast to take place on a dry track.
ÁLEX MÁRQUEZ – 6th 1’35.337
“Today we got to try the bike in the wet, it’s only really the second time riding a MotoGP bike in the wet. The tyres are really different to in Moto2 and the Michelin wet tyre gives you a lot of confidence. Normally I am quite fast in the wet and I am pleased to feel good on the MotoGP bike in the wet. From now to the end of the year there could be a lot of wet races, so it is important to get a base setting for these conditions. Saturday and Sunday are looking colder than today, but dry, this might complicate everything a bit but I think we can manage it well.”
STEFAN BRADL – 17th 1’36.478
“We come here after an important test in Portimao, I was very happy to be there to help HRC. Our trip here meant we arrived very late, then when we saw the weather conditions today myself and the team decided it was better to stay inside because there was a lot to lose and not a lot to gain from conditions like this. But in the afternoon I felt quite good, it looks like missing FP1 did not hurt us. Let’s see what tomorrow brings with the weather and where we can improve.”
