Today’s session ended early for Alex Marquez. The LCR team rider was the protagonist of a tall squad at Turn 9, picking up a small 2mm fracture in the fourth metatarsus of his right foot. 1’54.692 was his best time today. The Spaniard was temporarily declared unable to return to the track. Still, Alex said he was ready to get back on his bike if the doctors gave him the okay tomorrow.
“In the first part of today’s session, I tried a lot of important things. Actually, I drove with somewhat strange conditions in the morning because we won’t have the same situation in the race. In the afternoon I changed tires and tried to pinpoint a good time to improve, but I crashed. After all, we’re here to try new things – were the words of Alex Marquez – I crashed at Turn 9 and it was a high side, luckily I’m fine. I have a small fracture in my right foot. At the moment the doctor has said that I will not be able to get back on the track, but if we have good weather conditions tomorrow I will try to convince him. I feel good and I think I wouldn’t have any problems with the bike. “
You said you have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Still have a long list of things to try?
“I still have to work to be ready for the race. I have to focus on the racing simulation the time attack and other things. I fell into a corner where I was already very fast because I was trying to pick up the pace. I went a little further and made a mistake. I’ll have to turn my attention to the other corners where I’m losing something. At this point I am already very well. I have to try to control my limits. I’m sorry for the team because I crashed several times. In Qatar there are always many, it is difficult to understand the front tire well in high temperatures. “
You had multiple crashes in these two test sessions. What do you make of it?
“I think everyone crashes. I have to admit that in these conditions it is difficult to understand the performance of the medium or hard tire up front. We don’t have a lot of information and it’s easy to lose control. In the beginning I tried to put medium tires on, it went a little better but there wasn’t much feedback on the front and so it’s easy to slide. If I didn’t have the chance to hit the track tomorrow, we would still have enough data to get the season off to a good start. If the doctor says I’m fine, I’ll try. In 2017 I drove at Le Mans with a severe fracture in my left arm, while now I have a very small fracture. In any case, it would not be a problem not to go out on the track. “