Alex Marquez is pushing to find the limit on the opening day in Valencia. Stefan Bradl is steadily and consistently improving to threaten the top ten.
The dry conditions made for a productive morning at the Valencia Circuit. The premier class drivers were able to improve the best times of the last week almost immediately. Clouds were gathering overhead before Free Practice 2, but the track stayed dry all day. The result was one of the closest MotoGP training days this year.
Eager to get back on track and get back to work, Alex Marquez immediately hit the road in dry conditions. In the competition times of the first session, the MotoGP rookie was just 0.769 seconds behind the top spot. FP2 started well for Alex as he battled for a top five position. A small fall at Turn 2 forced him back into the garage early and he unfortunately suffered a second fall at Turn 4 later in the session. The MotoGP rookie was uninjured in both cases. A best time of 1’31.371 brought Alex to 19th place overall on a hard-fought day when 19 drivers were less than eight tenths of a second apart.
In tenth place in FP1, Stefan Bradl continued his great form. The German immediately felt at home on his Honda RC213V. His pace would continue in Free Practice 2, a late attack that put Bradl in 12th place in the session, 0.484 seconds off the top spot. With his 1’31.106, Bradl finished 13th on the combined time sheets as he prepares to fight for the starting position on Saturday afternoon.
Takaaki Nakagami finished the day as the best Honda rider, leading FP1 and finishing second in the combined time with a 1’30.713.
The action continues on Saturday with Free Practice 3, the last chance to secure a spot in the top ten and jump straight into the second quarter. Both drivers start at 10:55 a.m. local time and are ready to secure a place in the top ten as only a few hundredths of a second make the difference.