Petrucci tops Marquez in Friday practice
Danilo Petrucci |
Strong sun throughout Friday practice at the Spanish GP highlighted the new Jerez tarmac as the MotoGP teams made the most of every moment on the familiar track.
Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) ended Day 1 at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España at the top of the timesheets after setting a 1:37.909 in FP2, a time enough to edge out Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) by 0.012 as Ducati and Honda lock horns on Friday in Jerez.
Only challenged for the top spot in Free Practice 1 by his teammate, reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez continued his form into FP2. Remaining fast, Marquez ultimately ended Free Practice 2 in fourth with a 1’38.147 – less than a third of a second splitting the top four. Marquez’s morning time has him second on the combined times, 0.012s behind Danilo Petrucci and one of only two riders to set a 1’37.
Quotes
Danilo Petrucci, 1st 1'37.909
“It’s always nice to come back in Europe in Jerez, it’s a track I like a lot and today was a good day," reflected Petrucci, who spearheads a top five covered by less than two tenths which hosts two Ducatis and three Hondas. “In the end the lap time was good but I think we have some room for improvement," continued the Italian.
“Tomorrow morning the track will be cooler and maybe faster so today is not so important, but we understood something, especially on the tyre that might work for Sunday. And the most important thing is that we don’t change the setup a lot compared to Austin. For sure in Austin the race wasn’t good for me but I knew this and I also knew that this is a good track for me and for today I’m happy."
Marc Marquez, 2nd 1'37.921
“Basically today was a normal Friday, trying to be consistent and working mostly for the race and on our overall pace. I feel good from the beginning and we kept improving. I’m happy but of course we have to keep working, we’ve started well. The new tarmac has great grip. When we came here with the old tarmac there was one setup and now it’s another setup. We started with a good pace so are trying some things and we don’t have the same problems we had in Austin which is helping me to ride constant and exactly like I want. There are many riders who are quick so we have to be careful!"
Friday Practice Times (Combined)
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
1 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | Mission Winnow Ducati | Ducati | 1'37.909 |
2 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.012 |
3 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | Mission Winnow Ducati | Ducati | 0.097 |
4 | Lorenzo Jorge | 99 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.136 |
5 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 0.195 |
6 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.203 |
7 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 0.225 |
8 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 0.300 |
9 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | HRC Test Team | Honda | 0.464 |
10 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.555 |
11 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 0.569 |
12 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.625 |
13 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.684 |
14 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.726 |
15 | Iannone Andrea | 29 | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 0.767 |
16 | Rossi Valentino | 46 | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.772 |
17 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 0.812 |
18 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 0.880 |
19 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.988 |
20 | Rabat Tito | 53 | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1.201 |
21 | Smith Bradley | 38 | GBR | Aprilia Racing Test Team | Aprilia | 1.501 |
22 | Abraham Karel | 17 | CZE | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1.623 |
23 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 1.865 |
24 | Syahrin Hafizh | 55 | MAL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 2.985 |