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The Repsol Honda Team riders finished the first Free Practice session of the Grand Prix among the Top 3. In the afternoon, lap times dropped considerably, whilst a crash by Márquez and a front brake issue for Espargaró caused problems for the pair.
Espargaró had been the fastest rider at the track during preseason testing, and finished the first session of the day with the quickest time. In the second Free Practice, the Repsol Honda Team star was among the Top 5 for much of the session, until a front brake issue with 2 minutes kept him at a 1:32.628 best time, relegating him to nineteenth position.
Márquez experienced a similar situation. In the morning, he finished the first session with the third fastest time and a good feeling. However, in the afternoon, during FP2, he suffered a crash with one minute remaining in the session. Unable to improve his times, his 1:42.847 put him 22nd overall.
Rider Statements
“Today in the morning we were able to go quite well but then in the afternoon we had a crash when it was not the time to have a crash. This can happen when you are pushing for one fast lap. We still need to work on what tyre will be best for the race, this will be the main objective for tomorrow. Before the crash it was OK but we will have to see what the situation is tomorrow.”
“When we look at the day overall it’s a good day. We started well with P1 in the morning and then in the afternoon our speed was not too bad. There was a problem with the front brake during our run with the soft tyre so I couldn’t improve like I wanted to but before that we were able to run inside the top five. There was the potential to be in the top five and sadly these kinds of problems can happen, we are not worried about it. The important thing is that the lap time is coming, when I want to push – I can push and get the lap time. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully the morning is dry so we can improve to Q2, I have the speed.”