Following in the same vein as just a few days ago in Japan, Marc Márquez has started pushing hard at the Malaysian Grand Prix, leading the first free practice held at the Sepang track. The Repsol rider knew how to adjust to the intense heat and humidity which has welcomed the World Championship riders in Malaysia, and, improving slowly, began work on the set-up of his Derbi RSA.
In temperatures of 36ºC and with humidity close to 41%, Márquez did 19 laps of the Malay track, completing the first 105 kilometres in a weekend which is going to be tremendously physically demanding, in extreme conditions, due to the tropical climate typical of the peninsula which is located close to the Equator. The Repsol rider started off carefully as usual, warming up the engine and getting used to the feeling of the new track.
However, having completed twenty minutes and returning to the garage, the Repsol rider placed himself up amongst the fastest, setting the second best time up to that moment. On the second lap, Márquez continued to reduce his times and climbed to first position, which he reaffirmed lap after lap, continuously beating his times. At the end, Márquez finished by setting a time of 2 minutes, 14 seconds and 274 milliseconds, 376 milliseconds faster than Pol Espargaró and 510 milliseconds ahead of Nico Terol, who were second and third respectively.
Marc Márquez, 2’14.274 seg. 19 vueltas, 105 km. >> Audio
“I think we had quite a good free practice, especially as the track was quite difficult, particularly at the start, it was very slippery. We took it slowly because, having seen a few riders fall, it makes you more cautious. Towards the end, we pushed a bit more, although a significant improvement can still be made. We tried to improve with each outing onto the track and find a better adjusted set-up every time. I think we have found it and, looking towards tomorrow, we know what we have to do, although we can still improve quite a lot. The heat is our worst enemy, you really feel it here but then you think about the MotoGP riders and realize that we, in that aspect, are better off than they are”.
