First day of Italian Grand Prix concludes with Alex Marquez and Alex Rins alternating top spot in two Moto3 practices, taking first and third, respectively, on the combined timesheet.
Round 6 of the Moto3 World Championship kicked off on Friday at the Mugello circuit in Italy, with Alex Marquez and Alex Rins amongst the fastest riders of the day. The Repsol riders concluded the two sessions with first and third place, respectively, on the combined timesheet –before a shower ended the activity on track for the day.
In the opening session, Rins was quickest with a time of 1’58.757. Marquez was 0.288 behind him in third place. In the second runout Marquez led the way with a 1’58.713 lap and Rins was caught out by the rain, relegated to fourteenth as he was unable to put in a hot lap. However, the combined standings for the day had him in third, just 0.044 down on his teammate.
The weather forecast for Saturday is for the rain to disappear, leaving the riders free to get in further dry track time ahead of the 12:35pm qualifying session.
Álex Rins >> AUDIO >> AUDIO CAT
3rd, 1:58.757 sec, 28 laps, 147 km
“In general today went well. In the first practice session I felt comfortable riding the Honda at this track –maybe because it is many long corners and our bike is suited to this type of track. This morning I was able to ride in a group and that helped me to be up at the front, because I was able to gather some references to work with. I think that this is a track where it will be hard to break away, so I think that on Sunday we will see a fun race”.
Álex Márquez >> AUDIO >> AUDIO CAT
1st, 1:58.757 sec, 30 laps, 157 km
“This is one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar –if not the most difficult. Riding here last year has helped me a lot, but it is also a tricky track for setting up the bike. Fortunately the base setup that we used wasn’t bad and this morning I placed third, although I still didn’t feel completely comfortable. In the afternoon we took a small step forward with the setup, but we still need to improve a lot because the times are going to keep dropping. The feeling today is good, but there is a long way to go and we need to keep just as focused”.
