Marc Marquez was fastest on the opening day of MotoGP practice.
MARC Marquez turned Friday’s fastest MotoGP practice lap at the Grand Prix of the Americas with season points leader Maverick Vinales settling for third on the speed chart.
The Spanish duo traded the top spot on the opening day in Austin, the Yamaha heading the order in the first session before the reigning world champion held sway in the latter.
Marquez set the fastest time of the day with a 2m04.061s — just 0.286s ahead of rookie Johann Zarco, again surprising with his immediate pace aboard the satellite Tech3 Yamaha.
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RESULTS: Click here for full results from MotoGP Practice 1 and 2 in Austin
Valentino Rossi was next best in fourth, around four tenths adrift of his Yamaha teammate, with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa rounding out the top five.
Andrea Dovizioso was the quickest of the Ducatis in sixth, four tenths and five places ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, while Australia’s Jack Miller ended the opening day in 13th, 1.4s adrift of Marquez’s pace.
“Today went well enough and in the second session I started to feel more comfortable on the bike,” Marquez said.
“But there are some areas of the setup where we need to keep working hard, especially to improve the feeling with the front.
“The positive is that over the course of the day, we were able to complete a lot of work and try all the tires, even the soft one, to see how the bike reacts.
“In the afternoon we also took a step forward with the electronics, finding a good enough base, although we also want to sort out some more details there to improve the bike’s behaviour on the bumps.”
Marquez has won all four prior MotoGP events contested at the circuit from the pole.
Yamaha rider Vinales, who won the first two races at Qatar and Argentina, completed the fastest lap in the first run at 2:04.923 but was third on the day with a top time still .390 off his countryman’s pace.
“It’s my first time here with the Yamaha M1 and I felt great,” said Vinales, who collected his first win in Texas in the Moto2 race in 2014.
“Of course we still have to work hard, especially in preparation for the last laps of the race, but I’m happy and confident. I’m sure that we can do a really good weekend.”
– With AFP
Originally published as Marquez sets pace in Austin MotoGP practice
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