Repsol Honda Team rider just 0.074s off pole position at Brno. Dani Pedrosa, hindered by yesterday’s crash, will start from the third row in ninth.
The second day of the Czech Grand Prix saw Marc Marquez fight for pole position in qualifying, just missing out by 0.074s. Teammate Dani Pedrosa will start from the third row -in ninth position- affected by a sore ankle caused by a Friday crash.
Third in both the third and fourth practice sessions, Marc Marquez stepped things up in qualifying. He rode almost half a second quicker than the track record but, with a time of 1:55.063, came up short to poleman Jorge Lorenzo.
Dani Pedrosa, visibly hindered by his crash yesterday, completed 19 laps in the first session today and twelve in the second, finishing sixth and tenth, respectively. In Q2 he stopped the clock at 1:55.969 and starts from ninth for the eleventh race of the year, which will begin tomorrow at 2pm local time.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
2nd – 1:55.063, 39 laps. 211 km
“Today we can be very pleased with how the day went, yesterday we were far off Jorge and Valentino’s pace but today we are much closer. It’s a good sign, but we knew it would be difficult to beat them over a single lap because it seems that they use the new tyre very well. I set a very good lap, but Jorge’s was fantastic. In terms of race pace I think they are a little better than us, but there isn’t much in it, so in the morning warmup we will try to make a step. We will give one hundred percent in the race and try to keep as close as possible and stick with them to the end.”
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
9th – 1:55.969, 38 laps, 205 km
“Today was a difficult day and I did the best I could but it was very painful on the bike and hard for me to change gears and move myself around. Although I wasn’t slow, I didn’t get a great position on the grid as the riders around me are very close with just a few hundredths of a second separating us. So tomorrow we will start a little further back which is always tricky as you find yourself in traffic in the early laps. However, we will try our best tomorrow, hope for a good start and go from there.”
