Stefan Bradl places tenth and Pol Espargaró seventeenth, on a day in which up to 15 riders finish within the same second.
The first day of the Doha GP started with a suffocating heat on track, as ambient temperatures reached close to 37ºC in FP1. It was in FP2, with conditions similar to those expected for the race, that the best times of the day were set. The Repsol Honda Team riders finished the first day with Stefan Bradl in tenth position and with Pol Espargaró in seventeenth.
Just a few days after his debut with the Repsol Honda Team at the Qatar GP, Pol Espargaró continued working at the Losail International Circuit and took steps forward with his adaptation to the Honda RC213V. The Spaniard clocked a best time of 1:54.205, for 17th place.
Stefan Bradl ended the day in tenth position. His best time 1:53.914, put him provisionally into Q2. FP3 will be held on Saturday ahead of qualifying.
Pol Espargaró
“Today was not a good day. With a bike that is new to me it is proving hard to adapt to the differences in tyres for the time attack we have to do, this is what I am struggling with. When you make mistakes in a fast lap, this is what happens. I made a lot of mistakes on what should have been my fastest lap so now we face this reality. With the times so close, there is no room for error. I just need more time running in a time attack mode to understand what areas I can take the most profit from, it will come. But we will keep pushing and working, we have another chance in Q1 to move into the top two and advance.”
Stefan Bradl
“Last week on Friday we were unlucky, this week our luck has turned around a bit. The lap times were super close and we have been able to get a spot in the top ten which looks to be key for Q2. Anyway, we have made some changes to the bike and they have all worked well so this is encouraging. Compared to last week we are stronger but we still have to be strong tomorrow during Qualifying so we can start in a better position. This remains our target but for today we can be pleased with what we have done.”
