The second practice session at the Australian GP saw an outstanding Marc Marquez claim sixth spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Esteve Rabat will start one row back from 10th place, way ahead of teammate Scott Redding, who with a series of mechanical and setup problems closed the session in 24th spot. Cameron Beaubier put in some good laps today, and, despite coming off towards the end, clocked the 18th best time.
The rain threatened throughout the morning, interrupting the free practice session. Fortunately the wind did its best to dry out the circuit and the timed session took place on a completely dry track. With the risk of new showers, the riders were going hard right from start and Marc Marquez and Esteve Rabat were rapidly among the 10 leaders. Marquez began to slip back, and it wasn’t until the last five laps that he managed to put in better times, moving into second briefly, and finally clinching fifth spot on the grid, 522 milliseconds behind Pol Espargaro’s pole time.
Esteve Rabat had a similarly positive day, and will start tomorrow’s race from 10th place. The Repsol rider has shown much more consistency towards the end of the season, and has been among the top ten places throughout the two days of practice sessions at the Australian GP. The same can’t be said for teammate Scott Redding, who despite getting a much better feeling from the bike, and getting the suspension setup just right, has once again been beset by mechanical problems. From the ten laps he managed to get in, he could only muster 24th place on the grid.Further up the grid for tomorrow’s start will be Cameron Beaubier, who today managed to improve significantly his performance on the Phillip Island track. The Repsol rider finished in 18th spot, just 1.6 seconds behind the best time. From there he will have a good opportunity tomorrow to get among the points. Beaubier had a bit of help from teammate Marc Marquez, whom he managed to follow for a few laps, before coming off just a minute before the end of the session.
Tomorrow’s race will start two hours later than usual, at one o’clock in the afternoon in Australia (04:00h in Spain).
Marc Marquez, 1.38.292 sec, 25 laps, 111 km. >> Audio
“The session ended pretty well, because in the end I was able to save the situation. I find riding on my own on this circuit more difficult than normal, and I get a lot better when I’m riding behind someone else. I managed to get behind somebody’s wheel and this helped me finish in sixth, which isn’t bad, but I need to get better, as I’m not picking up a good rhythm when I ride on my own. Tomorrow I’m sure will be a tightly bunched race, that’s how it normally is on this track; slipstreams will play an important role. We want to get a good start, hold a place in the leading group and finish the race, because we were out of the points at Estoril and it’s important to finish here”.
Esteve Rabat, 1.38.588 sec, 30 laps, 133 km. >> Audio
“It’s been a solid and consistent weekend, because on Friday I finished eighth, this morning with the track half wet I was in 12th, and now in the timed session I finished 10th. I’m happy with the work we’ve put it, the team has worked hard and the bike went perfectly. The engine was the best of all of them, and the chassis is set up nicely. Tomorrow we’ll try and get a good start, and hold a position in the leading group”.
Scott Redding, 1.39.990 sec, 22 laps, 98 km. >> Audio
“The suspension has been a lot better this afternoon than during the rest of the weekend and this is a big improvement. I had a good feeling, but on the ninth lap the bike started to slow down, and I went into boxes to tell the mechanics that the bike had problems. I got back on the track and, sure enough, it broke down. We put in ten laps, and I was getting progressively faster, until I was about to use new tyres, and the bike broke down. This morning, with the rain, it wasn’t so bad, but it wasn’t really significant. The problem is that the engine was not so fast, just as in the afternoon, and this is something we have to work on”.
Cameron Beaubier, 1.39.370 sec, 26 laps, 117 km.
“Today’s session went well. I felt comfortable, and above all, much better than yesterday, with a lot more confidence on the bends. In the end, when I tried to follow Marc [Marquez] I had a small crash. The previous lap I had clocked my best time, and by following Marc I was able to get a better line in several places, and climb up the grid a bit. It was when I continued that the front wheel slipped too much, although the crash was not a big deal. If I can get a good start tomorrow, I should be able to get in the fight for points, because I was only 1.6 seconds off the leader”.
