Repsol Honda Team rider dominates with another exhibition at his favourite circuit. Dani Pedrosa will start from seventh, after a crash on his last lap.
The MotoGP World Championship leader continued to make progress on the second day of practice for the Aragon Grand Prix. A heavy crash in FP3 failed to diminished the confidence of Marc Marquez, who led the way in both free practice sessions on Saturday. In the qualifying session, the Spaniard topped the timesheets from start to finish, with all three of his hot laps the fastest of the day. Marquez is now the rider with the joint most pole positions since they were first recorded in 1974, along with Jorge Lorenzo, with 64 qualifying top spots.
On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Dani Pedrosa was eighth and fourth in the two free practice sessions, but a crash on his final hot lap in qualifying left him in seventh position.
Marc Marquez
1st 1:47.117 >> Audio
“I’m very happy with how the day went, especially with the pace we had in FP4, which was very good. Today we found a good setup for the bike and we were able to improve on yesterday, although it was a shame about the crash this morning. In qualifying I was very comfortable on my first lap, as it is when the tyre had its maximum potential, and I also pushed on my second lap but not as close to the limit. With today’s temperatures we were able to work very well with the front end. Hopefully the good weather continues tomorrow. If it gets colder, we would have to reassess the front tyre choice. Regardless, I’m satisfied; like every year, I feel very good at this track and I hope we can finish well on Sunday.”
Dani Pedrosa
7th, 1:48.107 at 0.900 seconds >> Audio
“I had a very strong pace in the last free practice, and in the qualifying session I was going very well. It’s a shame that I crashed when I was riding at practically the pole position time on my best lap, as I think we could have taken a spot on the front row, something we have found hard lately. Now we must forget this and concentrate on the race, in which setting a good pace, the tyre choice and gaining as many places as possible on the first lap will be key.”
