Marc Marquez names two KTM riders who “can be close” at COTA MotoGP
Marc Marquez expects Pedro Acosta and Maverick Vinales to challenge Ducati dominance at COTA.
MotoGP title leader Marc Marquez led an all-Ducati sweep of the top five during a damp Friday practice at COTA.
With the other Desmosedici of factory team-mate Francesco Bagnaia also in the top ten and claiming to have kept “a lot” of margin in the dicey conditions, Ducati are again the clear favourites.
But Marquez also identified KTM riders Pedro Acosta and Maverick Vinales as potential threats.
Vinales beat then-rookie Acosta to victory at COTA last season while riding for Aprilia and enjoyed his best session on the RC16 with eighth place, just behind Acosta, on Friday.
“Tomorrow we will see more of the reality,” Marquez said of the dry forecast for the remainder of the event.
“I believe that maybe Acosta and Vinales can be close, because here there are a lot of stop-and-go corners and KTM is good there, especially in acceleration from first gear they are really fast.
“So I expect a strong Vinales and Acosta. And the rest, as we see today, all Ducatis will be there on the top.”
Marquez - who will try to extend his unbeaten run as a Ducati Lenovo rider to five in a row during Saturday’s Sprint race - rebounded from a wet morning highside to claim the top spot by over 0.7s in the afternoon.
“I did a mistake when it was not the time to do that kind of mistake in the first laps of FP1,” Marquez said.
“But it can happen. Extra confidence, I was flowing on the track and riding like there was no water.
“Then there was a lot of water on that corner, and I had a lot of aquaplaning.”
Slick tyres then made an appearance from the midway stage of the afternoon.
“I felt good with the slick tyres but [0.7s] is not the real distance, because tomorrow everything will be more tight. But it's good to start.”
Not only has Marquez won every race so far this year, but he has also beaten younger brother Alex to both pole positions.
Alex was fourth fastest for Gresini on Friday.
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.
