Repsol Honda Team rider takes second fastest time in qualifying for Japanese GP. Stand-in teammate Hiroshi Aoyama will start from twenty-second.
MotoGP World Championship leader Marc Marquez had a positive second day of practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, qualifying in second position on the starting grid for tomorrow’s race. At a track where he had expected to encounter more difficulties, the Repsol Honda Team rider managed enjoyed good practice sessions –going fastest in the two held today– and set a time of 1:44.134 in qualifying. This put him on the front row of the grid for the first race of the flyaway rounds. On the other side of the garage, Hiroshi Aoyama came in as a substitute for Dani Pedrosa, who on Friday had broken his right collarbone in the second free practice session. After completing 28 laps in the two free practice sessions today –despite a crash in FP4– Aoyama placed twenty-second for tomorrow’s race.
Marc Márquez
2nd, 1:44.134, 40 laps, 192 km >> Audio
“Getting pole would’ve been the best thing for a Saturday, but I’m happy with second place because this circuit is one at which I had expected to struggle a bit more. As it turns out, we’re doing pretty well and have ridden at a good pace throughout the weekend. This afternoon the first run went well enough, but when I took my second bike out I made a small mistake at turn 11 during the first flying lap. I had a last possibility to try to improve but I saw the yellow flag where Crutchlow had just crashed and I slowed down.”
Hiroshi Aoyama
22nd, 1:47.788, 36 laps, 173 km >> Audio
“The crash in the morning wasn’t the best thing to happen when I was trying to find a good feeling. I tried to go faster and in FP3 I didn’t start badly at all, but in FP4 I had a small crash. I lost a bit of confidence and wasn’t able to give my maximum in the qualifying session. Tomorrow I hope to have more confidence and a better feeling, especially with the front end. The goal is to finish the race and try to get into the points.”
