Positive first day of practice for the British Grand Prix, as Alex Rins sets third fastest time and Alex Marquez the sixth.
This Friday, Silverstone hosted the first two practice sessions for the twelfth round of the Moto3 World Championship. The Repsol riders ended the day with Alex Rins setting the third fastest time, whilst Alex Marquez was sixth quickest. Both quickly adapted to the cold weather conditions that welcomed the Grand Prix riders and have shown a strong pace to date.
The British Grand Prix was opened with a first free practice session that saw Marquez and Rins set the third and fourth fastest times, respectively, having completed 14 and 15 laps each. Another 14 laps in the second session allowed Rins to finally stop the clock at 2:15.634, putting him third and just 0.062s off the fastest time of the day, taken by Danny Kent. Marquez, who dominated much of Friday’s proceedings, was unable to improve on his last run and set his best time on the tenth of 14 laps in the second session: 2:15.870.
Tomorrow will see the second day of practice at Silverstone, capped by the qualifying session to decide the grid at 12:35pm local time.
Alex Rins >> Audio
3rd, 2´15.634, 29 laps, 171 km.
“We are pleased how the first day went and with the progress we have continued to make since Indianapolis. Perhaps the track conditions were not the best and, although the grip improved a little in the second session, we encountered more bumps than last season and that made it a bit tougher. We need to try some things heading into the final free practice, so that we can focus on our race pace. I felt comfortable from the start, riding alone. We eventually found a rider to use as a reference, which worked well”.
Alex Marquez >> Audio
6th, 2´15.870, 28 laps, 165 km.
“For this first day of practice at Silverstone we have encountered some pretty tough weather conditions and in general everyone has found it harder to get close to last year’s times. The wind and cold meant that we had to ride with a far greater margin for error. Anyway, I think in the end we have had a good Friday and in the second session I felt pretty good with the setup we had. We’re not up at the top, but we have good pace. Tomorrow we will continue in this way for further improvement, as the times are certain to be lowered”.
