Repsol Honda Team riders fifth and seventh on first day of action at Le Mans, with a positive return from Dani Pedrosa.
Today the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans saw the first free practice sessions for the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship. Repsol riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished fifth and seventh, respectively, on day one, progressively improving their lap times in a positive opening to the weekend. Pedrosa was making his return to MotoGP action after six weeks out through injury.
In the first free practice, with track temperatures barely reaching 15ºC, Marquez completed 14 laps and was second on the timesheet. He was 0.246s off the top tie, set by Andrea Dovizioso. Pedrosa favoured a cautious approach to ease himself back into competition mode, finishing thirteenth and 1.314s behind the Italian after 17 laps.
In the second session the asphalt temperature rose to 25ºC and the Repsol Honda Team riders were able to considerably improve their lap times. The reigning World Champion was fifth, with a time of 1:33.670 after 21 laps. Pedrosa completed a further 18 laps, his last a best of 1:33.725. That time was 0.546s off that of Bradley Smith, the fastest man on Friday.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
5th – 1:33.670, 35 laps, 146 km
“Today went quite well. I’m happy because we have done a good job in preparation for the race, and we have also done some interesting tests that will allow us to keep working in a good way this weekend. The final position for the day might only be fifth, but the feeling is good and that is important. Tomorrow we will try to improve and continue on the same track with our work, which is the right way for us to go.”
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
7th – 1:33.725, 35 laps. 146 km
“The first day after a long time without riding has been a little difficult, as was finding a good feel for the track and getting used to the speed and the tyres. In addition, this track is not easy to tackle when it’s a little cold. However, gradually we have made progress and by the afternoon things were going better, even if I still lacked a bit of pace. Tonight I will try to relax as much as I can, in order to regain energy for tomorrow.”
