Repsol rider returns to scene of first Moto2 victory and records fifth fastest time in free practice.
The historic Le Mans circuit today played host to the opening free practice sessions for the French Grand Prix, with Marc Márquez occupying fifth place on the timesheets. The Repsol rider undertook 39 laps over the course of the two sessions, stopping the clock at 1’38.486 and ending the day 6 tenths off leader Scott Redding.
Making the most of a dry day ahead of what is expected to be a weekend of sporadic rain, Marc Márquez and his team got to work in search of the best setting possible for the team’s Moto2 bike. The Repsol rider was the first in breaking the 1’39 mark and held third place on the timesheet after nineteen laps in the morning run. He was 4 tenths off Thomas Luthi and and 0.155 slower than Simone Corsi —the two early leaders in the class.
In the second session, Márquez was able to drop his times further and make inroads with his race setting. The Repsol competitor completed a total of 20 laps, with his best a 1’38.486 that placed him fifth in the combined standings.
The Spaniard will have another 90 minutes in which to finetune things for the race: 45 in the morning and another 45 in the afternoon qualifying session for the French Grand Prix.
Marc Márquez >> Audio
FP1 – 1:38.727, 19 laps, 79 km.
FP2 – 1:38.486, 20 laps, 84 km.
“I am happy with how things have gone in today’s practice sessions. We rode with the intention of finding a good setting and keeping up our pace over the course of the day. Up to now we have been working with the same method and it has been giving us good results, so we should continue with this level of concentration. There are a lot of riders who could become rivals for us. We will need to be very alert to everyone at every Grand Prix, as there is a lot of competition. Luthi is a very strong rider and we should always bear him in mind, without taking our eyes off Iannone and Redding —who are also great riders. We still have room for improvement tomorrow, above all in the geometry of the bike, but we should also pay special attention to the tyres”.
