Masterful 1-2 for Pedrosa and Marquez on Day 1 in Aragon
After struggling to find a good feeling with the track grip and ending the first session in 11th place, Dani significantly improved his speed in the FP2 session, lapping a second and a half faster. He worked with both the medium and hard rear tyre specs and is looking forward to further improving his feeling tomorrow.
Marquez showed top form right from the morning session, setting the quickest time and ending FP1 as the only rider to lap under the 1’49 barrier. He spent the whole FP2 session on the hard Michelin rear tyre, and in his last exit he recorded his best lap on a new hard rear.
Dani Pedrosa
1ST 1'48.429
“Obviously, I’m happy with first place even if it was a bit of a strange day. The sun never came out and we didn’t have the higher temperatures we had expected, which meant that I never quite felt totally comfortable. Anyway, we worked well and improved a lot in the afternoon. We focused on testing tires, trying to use them all, but we have one left to test. For the rear, for example, both the hard and the medium compounds are good choices, but we still have to see how the track will change. We’re continuing to try to keep the pace and concentration up in every exit, step by step. Our goal for tomorrow is to have a good qualifying session."
Marc Marquez
2ND 1'48.494
“Today went rather well. Aragon has always been a good track for me, and it suits my riding style. Following our plan, we focused on working with the race in mind and had some good luck in that it didn’t rain in the end. Our work went well, and on the last stint I ran a new hard tyre that allowed me to set a fast time and put in some consecutive laps while also setting a good pace. We still need to understand a few things, like how the softer rear tyre drops off, because everyone suffers with grip here. We also need to finish off trying out the front tires, because we haven’t been able to use the extra-hard too much. I’m happy with how things have gone in general. Finally, I wish to congratulate my mechanic Ujino-san, who remained in Japan for this race as he became a father a few days ago!
Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
1 | PEDROSA Dani | 26 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'48.429 |
2 | MARQUEZ Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1'48.494 |
3 | CRUTCHLOW Cal | 35 | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 1'48.510 |
4 | ROSSI Valentino | 46 | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1'48.669 |
5 | ESPARGARO Pol | 44 | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1'48.749 |
6 | VINALES Maverick | 25 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1'48.886 |
7 | LORENZO Jorge | 99 | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1'48.914 |
8 | BARBERA Hector | 8 | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1'48.970 |
9 | PETRUCCI Danilo | 9 | ITA | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1'49.065 |
10 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | 4 | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1'49.128 |
11 | ESPARGARO Aleix | 41 | SPA | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1'49.177 |
12 | HERNANDEZ Yonny | 68 | COL | Aspar MotoGP Team | Ducati | 1'49.243 |
13 | BRADL Stefan | 6 | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1'49.298 |
14 | BAUTISTA Alvaro | 19 | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1'49.301 |
15 | PIRRO Michele | 51 | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1'49.678 |
16 | REDDING Scott | 45 | GBR | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1'49.680 |
17 | LAVERTY Eugene | 50 | IRE | Aspar MotoGP Team | Ducati | 1'50.113 |
18 | RABAT Tito | 53 | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 1'50.649 |
19 | BAZ Loris | 76 | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1'50.940 |
20 | LOWES Alex | 22 | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1'50.988 |
21 | HAYDEN Nicky | 69 | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1'50.992 |