Alex Marquez is accompanied by Stefan Bradl for the Czech GP weekend in the garage of the Repsol Honda team. Marc Marquez is recovering from an injury and the pair are collecting good data on opening day.
The Czech GP marks the start of the first challenging triple header of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, but there was no hesitation as the Repsol Honda team diligently got to work. Although the conditions were not as hot as in the previous two races, the grip levels on the Czech track continued to change with rising temperatures during the course of the day.
With Brno as one of his favorite tracks on the calendar, Alex Marquez really wanted to try out his Honda RC213V on the 5.4 kilometer track. The times in Free Practice 1 were as close as never before. The Moto2 World Champion finished the first session in 18th and only 1.2 seconds ahead of LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami who was the fastest. Alex had an electronics problem at the beginning of Free Practice 2. The rookie quickly made his way back to the garage and back to the racetrack. Less than half a second separated Alex from a top ten result when the flag came out. The rookie set a best time of 1’57.688 on Friday.
Stefan Bradl’s Friday was all about adaptation, having last ridden a MotoGP bike during the Sepang Shakedown test in early February. The German driver spent the day familiarizing himself with the Honda RC213V and getting to work with the Repsol Honda team. By making improvements with every exit, the HRC test rider was able to keep pace with the MotoGP regulars and improve by an impressive 0.769 seconds in the second session. Continuous improvement and the pursuit of points remain Bradl’s goal for the weekend.
Nakagami continued to shine after his result at Jerez, the LCR Honda rider who led Free Practice 1 and finished Free Practice 2 half a second from the top spot. The ninth in the combined time saw him again as the leading Honda.
The action will continue on Saturday morning at 8:55 am local time with the RP3.