After two free practice sessions in the sunshine and some excellent track conditions in Jerez, a strong wind was an unwelcome guest during the classification session today. In spite of this Marc Márquez managed to make progress and classify on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race, the first time ever for him in the World Championship.
Scott Redding will be on the second row – in seventh position – demonstrating that, like Márquez, he can also adapt to the risky conditions, riding in strong gusts of wind. It is no coincidence that these two riders also got good results last year at Donington Park where they got their first ever podium finishes in their careers in a strong wind which they reacted to spectacularly.
Esteve Rabat’s British teammate will start a little further behind, fourth row, after setting the sixteenth fastest time. The Repsol rider did not feel comfortable at any time today, the adjustments that the team made and which worked well in both the free session yesterday and this morning did not suit him this afternoon, this meant that he was not able to ride with confidence when the wind blew strongly. In fact, with 15 minutes left in the official session, Rabat fell on the second corner when his bike lost adherence on the front wheel.
The fourth Repsol rider in the category, Cameron Beaubier, finished in a positive seventeenth position, in a session where the American got better as time passed. The Repsol rider improved gradually, few riders were able to improve their times because of the wind, but Cameron was able to lower his best time yesterday by 4 tenths of a second, showing that he is slowly getting the hang of things in this category.
Marc Márquez, 1’48.931 secs, 34 laps, 150 km. >> Audio
“This morning we thought that we could do things well, because the set up we got in practice a month ago finally worked well when we put a new fork on. I knew that I could set a good time, but when the wind got up it made things more difficult for me. I was dying to do a good lap, and although I could not be constant because of the strong gusts, sometimes they push you and other time it is against you, I was not able to do a set of fast laps, but I set a time that was the fourth fastest. I tried to adapt my style to the strong wind, throwing my weight forward to make the bike turn. I am very pleased because this is the first time I will be on the front row and I am really dying to put in a good performance. We will still be cautious because sometimes your desire gets the better of you and what the important thing is that you finish the race.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’50.249 secs, 34 laps, 150 km. >> Audio
“The two free sessions went perfectly and I felt fine on the bike. The problem was this afternoon in the strong wind, the sensations were nothing similar. The set up was not the same and it seemed that I was riding a bike that was not mine. I did not feel comfortable and I even fell trying to follow Iannone. On my final lap I tried to improve but I came across a rider on the track and that ruined things a bit. It is obvious that I would have liked to do things better, but it was not possible. We will continue to battle on and we will have to classify this session as just a set back, because if I get a good start tomorrow I can be up with the leaders.”
Scott Redding, 1’49.310 secs, 31 laps, 137 km. >> Audio
“Things went quite well. It was not possible to ride as fast as in the morning because of the wind, but we managed to adapt well. I am feeling better and better on the bike, and I can ride normally, like last year, so I should be able to make progress and get a good position. I think that the set up for tomorrow should work, because today I think it was a good one, even in the wind. I think we can finish in a good position in the race. It is complicated riding in the wind but I like it because I can control the bike well, and when I have had good races there have been strong winds blowing.”
Cameron Beaubier, 1’50.256 secs, 32 laps, 142 km. >> Audio
“At the beginning it took me some time to pick up the pace and I began slowly. But I put new tyres on and I was able to do much faster laps. I hope to have a good start tomorrow and work my way up to get among the points. We have the set up quite clear in our minds, the tyres too, and I just need to be consistent in the race tomorrow.”
