Marc Marquez “fast, but Bagnaia and Martin are flying”
"I feel fast, I feel comfortable. But when I stopped, [I saw] two guys were flying today on the race track"
Two riders lapped under 1m 31s on used medium tyres during Friday practice for the Emilia Romagna MotoGP.
Unfortunately for San Marino winner Marc Marquez, he wasn’t one of them.
Instead, Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin were a step ahead of the Gresini rider on both race rubber and soft-tyre time attacks.
Bagnaia, runner up in both ‘Misano 1’ races, broke the lap record on his way to the top with San Marino Sprint winner Martin 0.198s behind.
Marquez was third, just 0.299s from Bagnaia, but the biggest deficit was on medium rubber.
Bagnaia set a 1m 30.902s on used mediums that had done over 11 laps. Martin clocked a 1m 30.844s on tyres with a similar distance.
Meanwhile, Marquez’s medium best was a 1m 31.292s, and next best a '31.490s.
“We are in the top three, so this is positive. I feel fast, I feel comfortable. But when I stopped, [I saw] two guys were flying today on the race track,” Marquez told MotoGP.com. “Pecco and Martin were super fast.”
The step made by Bagnaia and Martin came as something of a surprise after Marquez set a new race lap record on the medium just two weeks ago.
“There’s small things that I can try to improve, but it's true that this year we have a bit of a pattern,” Marquez explained. “ When it's better grip on the race track, they are faster than me.
“The grip today was super good. You saw in the lap times. The colder conditions mean better grip, but everything more ‘sharp’. That’s where I feel a little bit more uncomfortable, but I was able to adapt well.”
The next best GP23 rider after Marquez on Friday was Marco Bezzecchi, in seventh place. Team-mate and brother Alex Marquez was 14th.
As at Misano 1, Michelin predicts riders will choose the medium compound front tyre and soft rear for the Sprint race.
The medium rear will then come into play for Sunday's full-length grand prix, unless temperatures are too cool.
Marc Marquez's first priority on Saturday will be to avoid a repeat of his ninth place on the San Marino grid, after crashing in qualifying.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
