Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro were on the hunt for improvement on day one as they were moved to 13th and 14th overall time due to a late attack. They were only 0.013 seconds apart when the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley begins.
The MotoGP World Championship returned to the Mugello circuit for the first time since 2019 when the sixth round of the 2021 season kicked off in Tuscany on Friday. The free practice session on Friday took place under a clear sky with an air temperature of 25 ° C and a track temperature of 46 ° C. Both Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro were able to make the most of the available track time on their respective Repsol Honda Team RC213V machines.
It was a busy Friday for Marc Marquez as he worked steadily throughout the day as he worked through his own plan and assessed his condition. Marquez and his team knew it was not going to be an easy weekend on the 5.2 kilometer route, and his physical condition remained the main limit on Friday. A late flight lap brought the eight-time world champion to 13th overall and just 0.013 seconds ahead of his teammate from the Repsol Honda team.
For Pol Espargaro Friday in Mugello offered the opportunity to try out the Honda RC213V on another new racetrack. Espargaro shortens his best time between the two training sessions by almost a full second and continues to improve with more and more bike time. Grip when entering corners and at high angles of inclination is the area that Espargaro and his team want to improve in the coming sessions. Espargaro remains confident when braking and feels comfortable and fast on the first section of the Tuscan track. In addition to his teammate, Espargaro’s last lap of Free Practice 2 proved to be his best of the day when he finished 14th overall with his 1’46.986.
Forecasts predict similar weather conditions on Saturday, which should lead to an exciting session in Free Practice 3 as the field of 22 vie for position in the combined top ten. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:55 a.m. local time.