Seventh place for Alex Rins and thirteenth for Alex Marquez on first day with new Australian asphalt.
The re-laid Phillip Island asphalt may have been new, but the weather on day one of the Australian GP was typical of the circuit; wind, sun and cold temperatures greeted the Moto3 riders on Friday. The participants were happy with the new surface, and in the opening sessions Alex Rins was seventh quickest, just 0.600s off Luis Salom –the quickest in the morning. Alex Marquez was tenth, 0.698s down.
In the second free practice session there was a light rise in temperatures and the two riders were able to lower their times. In the final minutes, Rins had a small crash after swerving off track to avoid a prone Niklas Ajo. He was unable to keep up his improvement and placed seventh. Alex Marquez placed tenth in the second session and thirteenth overall.
Alex Rins >> Audio
FP1 – 1:38.932, 18 laps, 80 km.
FP2 – 1:38.495, 15 laps, 67 km.
“The times were very tight today. Throughout the session we were working on different aspects of the setup, because we couldn’t find the best feeling. Tomorrow I’m sure we can go much faster, and hopefully there will be a little less wind. There is always room for improvement, because today I was riding with used tyres and set a pace that I think is still off what it will be in the race. It’s a shame that at the end, when we fitted new tyres, on the second lap I went off the track to avoid another rider.”
Alex Marquez >> Audio
FP1 – 1:39.030, 18 laps, 80 km.
FP2 – 1:38.996, 18 laps, 80 km.
“It was a little bit of a tricky day, as from the beginning we struggled a lot and now we have to work with tomorrow in mind. The positive thing is that although I was thirteenth, the difference to the top is not large and we have just 7 tenths between us. This afternoon we will try to solve some of the problems and doubts we have to see how we can continue to improve, because I think we have a lot of room for improvement.”
