Repsol rider starts well at Sepang, finishing the first day of the Malaysian GP in fourth place. Maria Herrera ends Friday thirty-first on her first contact with the track.
After rounds in Japan and Australia, the Moto3 World Championship has landed in the sweltering heat of Malaysia for the penultimate GP of the season –where temperatures reached 35°C with 47% humidity. Under these harsh conditions, the Moto3 riders began to work on preparing for what will definitely be one of the toughest races of the season. In the morning session, dominated by Danny Kent, Jorge Navarro was second by 0.450s. In the afternoon, despite an increase in temperature, Navarro continued to make progress on his bike setup, finishing the day fourth overall with a best time of 2:14.115 –0.400s off the best lap by Kent.
Maria Herrera rode at Sepang for the first time today –a difficult track to adapt to her particular riding style. In the first practice session she was thirty-second, over 4 seconds down on Kent. In the afternoon she improved her times by just over one second, finally ending the day thirty-first.
Jorge Navarro
-4th,2:14.115,31laps,172km
“Today was a positive day because we adapted very quickly to Sepang, which is quite tricky. This was our first objective: Make a strong start and slowly improve the bike. This morning our pace was very good; in the afternoon, with more heat and without using the soft tyre, I lacked a bit of confidence, but I guess it was the same for everyone. With the temperature of the track higher, we were sliding much more –especially with the rear– but I focused on setting my own pace and trying to improve the little details that we still needed to polish from the morning. I’m happy with the first day and we’ll see if we can continue working tomorrow in the same way as today.”
Maria Herrera
-31st,2:16.864,28laps,155km
“The Sepang circuit is tough. It is quite bumpy and we have to work hard on the setup of the bike, because I still don’t feel completely comfortable and there is a lot of chatter. Tomorrow we will continue in the same way at a track that is new to me, but I think we can improve. It is very hot here; I have never ridden in these conditions and it’s tough, but I keep rehydrating myself on the bike.”
