Marc Márquez had another intense day in the Andalusian track were the third Free Practice Session and the Qualifying of the Spanish Grand Prix took place. Second in the morning, in the all-important Qualifying session Marc Márquez set the fourth fastest time and will start from the second row of the starting grid.
This morning, after just one lap, the Repsol rider stopped again at the garage when the same problems he had yesterday with the rear brake reproduced. After a rider’s crash and the resulting red flag, Emilio Alzamora’s pupil was able to go back to the track with more than 30 minutes ahead to test. The rider from Cervera was able to progress to the top ten and, with a soaring last lap, he set the second fastest time.
In the afternoon, Márquez started the Qualifying determined to recover the lost ground. With the set-up clear since the last pre-season tests, the Repsol rider focused on adapting his Moto2 to the current conditions in Jerez: a high wind that conditioned the riding in the fast laps of the Andalusian track.
It did not take him long to be among the fastest of the class, and from mid-session on, it was clear that, together with Bradl, Luthi and Takahashi -who will be in the first row for tomorrow’s grid- he is one of the four riders with a better pace. In his tenth lap, Márquez set a time of 1 minute, 43 seconds and 332 thousandths, a register that he was not able to improve due to a crash eight minutes before the end. Just after stopping to take new tyres, the Repsol rider entered too fast in the first corner of the circuit and lost control of his Moto2, putting an end to his session with a crash that had no physical consequences.
Marc Márquez, 1:43.332, 14 laps, 62 km. >> Audio
“Fourth is a very good result if we take into account how the practice sessions went. Truth is I was not able to do many laps due to the problem with the brake and, although we could not solve it until the Qualifying, the important thing is that it is now solved. With the few laps I did, I was not able to test on new tyres and when I tried to push, I went to the ground. We will try to improve that in the warm up and we will also have to see what the weather brings. Physically, I feel perfect, I did not get hurt. If there is wind during the race, we still need to improve, but if we are lucky enough and there is no wind -and it seems it is going to be so- it will be better for us. Bradl is strong, but that is not my battle. I want to do my own race, try to have a good start and if we are able to keep the pace, fine. If not, it will be ok”.
