With the eighth fastest time on the first day of free practice, the German driver of the Tech 3 team had an honorable first day, which allowed him to beat officials like Andrea Iannone and Jorge Lorenzo. His time of 2'05.033 placed him only two tenths behind Valentino Rossi in fourth and Dani Pedrosa in fifth, but his teammate Johann Zarco put this performance on the back burner.
Johan was only two tenths behind leader Marc Marquez, crowned four times King of Texas, while he preceded the two factory Yamahas of Maverick Vinales. It wasn't the first time – remember Qatar – but it had a different impact than Folger's eighth place.
However, we should not draw too hasty conclusions from the Germanic performance, because Jonas in the past has achieved great things in Austin. So in 2013 for the opening of the circuit he competed in his only Moto3 race there, obtaining fourth place after qualifying in fifth position. Last year, he finished fifth here in the Grand Prix in the Moto2 category.
According to Jonas Folger, who are " It was a good first day and I'm sure we can do a very good job here on Sunday. The Circuit of the Americas is a technical track with a lot of turns, so it took me a little time to adapt.
“However, in FP2, during the last run, we put on the soft tires and I was able to put in a very positive lap to finish in the top ten. There are a few corners where I made a few small mistakes and lacked a bit of pace, so I need to sit down and analyze where I'm going wrong to try and improve.
“Saturday in FP3, we will work on the configuration of the race to find a good rhythm. I am sure we can continue in this encouraging way and I am delighted with my Yamaha. »
Combined ranking of the first two sessions (compiled by our friends at Crash.net):
1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 04.061
2. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 2m 04.347s +0.286
3. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 04.451s +0.390
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 04.806s +0.745
5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 04.811s +0.750
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 04.830s +0.769
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 2m 05.005s +0.944
8. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 2m 05.033s +0.972
9. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.116s +1.055
10. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 05.142s +1.081
11. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 05.282s +1.221
12. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 2m 05.284s +1.223
13. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 2m 05.463s +1.402
14. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 05.468s +1.407
15. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.584s +1.523
16. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 2m 05.602s +1.541
17. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 2m 05.943s +1.882
18. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 2m 06.155s +2.094
19. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 06.358s +2.297
20. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 2m 06.503s +2.442
21. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 06.709s +2.648
22. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 2m 06.741s +2.680
23. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 2m 07.434s +3.373
