Valentino Rossi was once again dominated during a Friday Grand Prix day both by his teammate Viñales and by M1 satellite rookie Fabio Quartararo. He is also still out of a top 10 which opens directly into Q2, avoiding the pitfall of the repechage. But he is at the gates of happiness since eleventh. He has Rins' Suzuki behind him and his student Morbidelli is fourteenth. So, it’s far from depressing…
Especially since there is still an FP3 on Saturday morning which could be a good lifeline due to the lower temperatures that the track will experience Red Bull Ring. " I would like to be in the top 10, but I lost time due to traffic on my best lap " said Rossi « But the weather forecast for the coming night and for Saturday is good. Therefore, we will fight in FP3 to reach the top ten ».
The Doctor adds: “ apart from that, my race pace is pretty good, better than last year. Our situation here is certainly better than in 2018, because even with worn tires we can keep the same pace. We've done a good job with the electronics. This allows us to spare the rear tire when accelerating ».
« The first feeling here in Austria is not so bad. But the situation is still similar, many very fast drivers on different brands are running equal lap times. FP3 will be very tight. But it will be very, very important to be in the top 10 to be able to go straight to Q2. So we will have a very important session on Saturday morning ».
« In my opinion, Yamaha's progress should be recognized »Insists Red. " In FP1, the conditions were very good, the temperatures were what we needed, I was fifth. In the afternoon it was warmer, which made it a little more difficult for us. For us this track is difficult because it has long straights and at the same time you have to accelerate very seriously everywhere on the edge of the tire. The rear tire is therefore extremely stressed. This is why we have suffered here in recent years, not only because of the low top speed, but also because of excessive wear on the rear tire ».
He ends: “cThis season, it seems that we have a little more control over tire consumption thanks to electronics. We can therefore drive at a more constant pace ».
Spielberg, combined times of FP1 and FP2:
1. Marc Márquez, Honda, 1:23,916 min
2. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, + 0.066 sec
3. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, + 0.117 sec
4. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +0.155
5. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, +0.237
6 Jack Miller, Ducati, +0.392
7. Miguel Oliveira, KTM, +0.410
8. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0.414
9. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +0.420
10. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +0,502
11. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0.553
12. Alex Rins, Suzuki, + 0.624
13. Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati, +0.682
14. Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha, +0.714
15. Johann Zarco, KTM, +0.754
16. Stefan Bradl, Honda, +0.839
17. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +0.949
18. Andrea Iannone, Aprilia, + 1.087
19. Karel Abraham, Ducati, + 1.233
20. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +1.317
21. Hafizh Syahrin, KTM, +1.353
