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Pair climb to 1,000 metres before facing the seventh race of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya -where speeds exceed 300km/h at the end of the home straight.
Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa are accustomed riding fast at race tracks. In fact, the pair will reach speeds of more than 300km/h this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, during the seventh Grand Prix of the MotoGP season.
What they are not so accustomed to is reaching 1,000 metres in altitude in a hot air balloon -until this week. The Repsol Honda riders have had time to practice their flying in a rural area in the interior of Catalonia, not far from Montmeló, ahead of the Catalan GP.
The duo arrive in Barcelona in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the overall standings, tied on 68 points.
Marc Márquez has achieved a victory and two podium finishes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since moving up to MotoGP, as well as holding two Moto2 podiums and a 125cc victory at the track.
Dani Pedrosa has six podiums from his last six visits to Montmeló. It is a track at which he also has three wins, with one in each class: In 2003 in 125cc, 2005 in 250cc and 2008 in MotoGP.
Marc Márquez
“I’m happy to get back in action soon and to do it at Catalunya, as racing at home in front of all your fans always gives you an extra boost! In Italy we managed the situation as well as possible, but we must do better. We have to be able to remain more consistently at a good level. The test we did at Catalunya some days ago actually went well enough. We did a lot of laps, improving the bike’s setup over the day, so we’ll try and build on that beginning on Friday. As for the changes made to the track, I think they’re interesting and quite challenging to interpret well. The speed and the corners on the rest of the circuit are all similar, while in that sector they’re now quite different. But honestly, the layout is so particular that I like it!”
Dani Pedrosa
“I’m looking forward to going to Montmeló as I like the track a lot and of course the atmosphere with my fan club and all the fans is always amazing! We will work hard to get back to the level we were at before Mugello and try and make good use of the information we gathered during the test we had at Montmeló in May, which was quite positive. Besides working on the setup, during the test we had the chance to try the new chicane and the modifications carried out to the layout which is more tight than before in that sector, even if the lap times are similar to the past. The surface is really bumpy and that also will be a factor to take into account. We are are ready to give our 100% to get a good result!”
