Petrucci tops Marquez in Friday practice

Danilo Petrucci
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