The Repsol Honda Team rider finishes the first day of the Catalunya Grand Prix less than half a second off the top spot, with the ninth fastest lap on Friday. Stefan Bradl places nineteenth.
Márquez continued to make progress in his premier class rookie year, riding at his home track. The Repsol Honda Team rider made significant improvement from the morning to afternoon sessions, and finished the day with a time of 1:40.478.
Stefan Bradl, back on the Honda RC213V after missing the last race through an injury to his right arm, set a time of 1:41.260 that put him 19th overall on Day 1 of the Catalan Grand Prix.
ÁLEX MÁRQUEZ – 9th 1’40.478
“It was not a bad day for us, it is really positive to be ninth. Maybe not every rider was pushing to their maximum the most today, but it’s a positive sign. I am feeling good on the bike, even if we are suffering a bit with rear grip – I think all riders are finding the rear grip tough. It’s a lovely track but there’s no grip and we have to try and manage it, hopefully with more riding it improves. I am happy with how this first day has gone, I am using everything we have been learning in the previous races and the test and we are making progress.”
STEFAN BRADL – 19th 1’41.260
“My arm is fine, this morning I felt much better than last week and I didn’t have any problems with it. This morning we started well, I am happy with the general setup of the bike and it seems like Honda has made a step since Misano. I think we have a good base for the rest of the weekend. The crash we had today was a little strange, I am perfectly okay, but it upset our plans for FP2 a little bit and I couldn’t do a proper time attack after. Otherwise, we are in quite a good way.”
