Repsol Honda Team riders complete first day of San Marino Grand Prix with Dani Pedrosa in second place and Marc Marquez in fifth.
Just five days after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone reached its conclusion, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were back onboard their MotoGP bikes for the first practice at Misano. In a tight first practice session for the San Marino GP, in which both Repsol Honda Team riders put in 20 laps, World Championship leader set the fourth fastest time. His teammate was sixth, just 0.057 slower. There was a step forward for both in the afternoon, with Pedrosa setting a best time of 1:32.834 in his 22 laps of the track. He was second on an overall timesheet headed by Pol Espargaro. Marquez was fifth with a time of 1:33.196, after completing a further 20 laps.
Marc Marquez, 5th 1:33.196 >> Audio
“I’m happy with how the day went overall. I think we worked pretty well and we’ve tried out almost every tyre as we didn’t want to make the same mistake we made in Silverstone. In the morning I had a strange feeling with some different front tyres; I pushed the front in a slow corner and lost it, although I was already looking for the limit at that point. Honestly we’ve suffered less than we had initially expected; in fact, I was able to be among the fastest riders and I think that if we continue to work well we can have a good weekend”.
Dani Pedrosa, 2nd 1:32.834 >> Audio
“We’ve started in a positive way and I’m obviously very happy. It will be important to remain totally focused for tomorrow. Luckily we had the chance to try almost all the tyre specs, as the track conditions were ideal—very grippy. In the test after the Brno race, we made a small change in the setting, which I liked. We have continued working in that direction, not making too many changes, first in Silverstone and now here. We’re gaining some confidence step by step, and now we must continue like this, keeping a good pace and making the right tyre choice for the race”.
