Pol Espargaró and Stefan Bradl completed the first two sessions of the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday, finishing 14th and 21st, respectively. Marc Márquez decided to stay at the circuit today to follow the two sessions both from the box and trackside.
The Repsol Honda Team riders, like the rest of the grid, began the first Free Practice session of the day using wet tyres, due to the rain that had fallen earlier in the day. Halfway through the session, under clear skies, the track dried out and the teams started to fit slicks. The end of FP1 and all of FP2 took place in dry conditions.
Pol Espargaró, who was one of the protagonists of the day as he announced his plans for next season, would place 21st in FP1 and 14th in FP2. With a time of 1:30.364, the Repsol Honda Team rider will have to improve in FP3 tomorrow in order to make it directly into Q2.
Stefan Bradl dedicated part of the session to sharing information and working together with Marc Márquez. The German rider clocked a fastest lap of 1:31.182, placing him 21st on the combined timesheets.
POL ESPARGARÓ – 14th 1’30.364
“We are not that far from the top, just half a second at a tight circuit like this is a lot better than our position shows. But this is MotoGP so every tenth counts and there are a few tools we can pull out tomorrow to close the gap. We aren’t in Q2 at the moment but if the weather holds tomorrow we will be pushing hard to make the top ten. We are working together inside Honda to improve, Marc was here also today watching and listening to the team talk.”
STEFAN BRADL – 21st 1’31.182
“The new chicane is good here, it reduces the speed and they have done a good job. It’s a bit bumpy but the chicane makes the track very different. It was a productive day today, I was able to get some good information and work with HRC and Marc on a few points. We are making good progress, both for this weekend and for the future. Let’s see what happens with the weather, times are very close so a bit of rain can really mix things up.”
