Álex Márquez and Stefan Bradl encountered tricky conditions during the first day of the European Grand Prix. Marquez finished sixteenth and Bradl fourteenth on the combined timesheets.
The MotoGP rookie started the day with the fifth fastest time, just over half a second off the top spot. Márquez felt comfortable on the wet track and was able to complete a good first Free Practice. In the afternoon the track dried up, and the Repsol Honda Team rider finished the day 16th, with a best time of 1:33.570.
Stefan Bradl also made improvements on Friday. The German ended the first session with the third fastest time. In the afternoon, in dry conditions, he placed fourteenth. Bradl set a best lap of 1:33.504, less than a second off the pace.
Tomorrow’s qualifying sessions are expected to be held in rainy conditions.
ÁLEX MÁRQUEZ – 16th 1’33.570
“Another day of learning MotoGP in different conditions as the track was changing in the morning so I was able to take profit of this time to understand how the tyres and bike behave. Then in the afternoon we had a track dry enough for slicks but it was not fully dry. I am physically OK after the crash; it was not a problem. Times are again very close so I am not too worried about our final position as we’ll push again in FP3.”
STEFAN BRADL – 14th 1’33.504
“It was not a bad day today, straight away in FP1 I had a good feeling with the bike and good confidence on rain tyres. This was a good start to the weekend. The afternoon was a little trickier with the drying conditions, but I think I could have had a better lap. Some small mistakes meant we missed the top ten today but overall it’s a positive day. We are looking good in these conditions so let’s see what happens with the weather and try to keep our position. It’s really tight here so even a small step can be a big improvement.”
