Marc Marquez had a good Friday day in the rain on a Portimao track which also gave satisfaction to his teammate Pol Espargaró. In these difficult conditions, the Repsol Hondas have made a comeback and they will be keen to confirm these good dispositions on Saturday during qualifying. The same wet weather will indeed be there, but for Sunday's race expected in the dry, it will be a different story and that is already worrying the eight-time World Champion.
Marc Marquez don't be choosy when looking at the first ranking of this Portuguese Grand Prix, fifth round of the season. Because he finds himself in the position he prefers, that of the leader. He explains his day like this: “ it was a solid Friday, I'm happy with the overall result “, declared the one who finished sixth in Texas. “ My feelings on the wet track were good from the start, which is important. When you go out in these conditions and struggle, it only gets worse. But I felt good from the start in FP1 ».
« Even with the worn tires in the morning, FP2 went well. I felt good physically, the times were not difficult for me » he rejoices. “ When it started to rain harder in FP2, I preferred to stay in the pits. I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, because according to the weather we should have a dry track on Sunday ».
Marc Marquez: “ a Grand Prix was held here about five months ago, but I wasn't there«
« Now we have to wait and see what happens. I will try to continue at this level on Saturday », added the six-time MotoGP World Champion. “ You can't collect much information for the set-up in this wet weather. But it's better if you find yourself in first position even in such conditions than far behind ". Because Marc Marquez expects a Sunday equivalent to a plunge into the unknown: “ It looks like we will have to ride in the wet again on Saturday. This means a tedious search for a setting for Sunday said the 59-time MotoGP winner. “ If it is only dry on Sunday, it will be difficult to choose the right tires because we will only be able to test the racing tires for 20 minutes during warm-up and we will have to find a correct setting in a hurry."
« Sure, a Grand Prix was held here about five months ago, but I wasn't there ", remember Marc Marquez. " So we don't have many benchmarks. We'll start with our basic setup. But first, we have to start Saturday. I hope it continues like this » he finishes.
FP1/FP2 results of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
