Marquez Tops the Friday Time Sheets
MotoGP Valencia
www.motorcycle-usa.com Byron Wilson
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez topped the timesheet in both MotoGP Free Practice sessions at Valencia. The rookie rider managed consistent 1’31 lap times during FP2, recording his fastest 1’31.220 lap near the end of the day. Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished second-fastest 0.066 seconds back followed by Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo in third.
Winds kicked-up in the afternoon but didn’t slow the top three riders from upping the ante during the latter portion of FP2. Lorenzo maintained top position early on but it was the Honda duo that dominated the final stages. Pedrosa and Marquez swapped position at the head of the timesheet a few times before the current points leader logged his definitive lap.
“It was good to start the most important week of the season and with a good feeling,” said Marquez. “We still need to improve our setup but we were fastest today - which is the key thing ahead of Sunday's race. Tomorrow we will continue in the same way but try to improve and take another step forward because I am sure that the rest of the riders will do so.”
Marquez and Lorenzo are battling for this year’s title at Valencia, with Marquez leading the series by 13 points over the Mallorcan. In an effort to leave no stone unturned, Lorenzo dedicated much of his time during the day working with his crew to find an optimal bike setting for the circuit.
“This afternoon was very windy so it was very difficult to make the same lap time of the morning but we managed to improve it a little bit,” explained Lorenzo. “We adjusted the bike a little electronically and also the suspension. We are quite close to everyone and ready to keep working tomorrow.”
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow ended fourth-fastest. The British rider sustained a final lap low-side but luckily he was able to walk away unharmed. Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, notched the fifth-fastest time, almost half-a-second off the lead lap set by Marquez. Rossi stole headlines the previous day after he announced that he and Jeremy Burgess (Rossi’s Crew Chief for 14 seasons) would part ways after the end of this year’s championship.
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finshed the day in sixth followed by Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista in seventh. Crutchlow’s teammate, Bradley Smith, was eighth-fastest trailed by Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden in ninth and 10th respectively.
Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro earned top placement among CRT riders in 13th, but soon after his quick lap the Spaniard crashed. Luckily he was unharmed, but time expired before he could try for a better lap.
MotoGP Valencia Friday Results 2013:
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’31.220
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’31.286
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’31.378
4. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’31.502
5. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’31.639
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’31.858
7. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’31.873
8. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’31.984
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’32.363
10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1’32.395
11. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’32.596
12. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 1’32.756
13. Aleix Espargaro (ART) 1’32.809
14. Claudio Corti (FTR-Kawasaki) 1’33.172
15. Colin Edwards (FTR-Kawasaki) 1’33.252
16. Hector Barbera (FTR) 1’33.270
17. Danilo Petrucci (Ioda-Suter) 1’33.304
18. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’33.487
19. Randy de Puniet (ART) 1’33.570
20. Luca Scassa (ART) 1’34.049
21. Hiroshi Aoyama (FTR) 1’34.077
22. Michael Laverty (ART) 1’34.132
23. Bryan Staring (FTR-Honda) 1’35.478
24. Damian Cudlin (PBM) 1’35.644
25. Martin Bauer (S&B Suter) 1’35.832
26. Lukas Pesek (Ioda-Suter) 1’36.353
“It was good to start the most important week of the season and with a good feeling,” said Marquez. “We still need to improve our setup but we were fastest today - which is the key thing ahead of Sunday's race. Tomorrow we will continue in the same way but try to improve and take another step forward because I am sure that the rest of the riders will do so.”
Marquez and Lorenzo are battling for this year’s title at Valencia, with Marquez leading the series by 13 points over the Mallorcan. In an effort to leave no stone unturned, Lorenzo dedicated much of his time during the day working with his crew to find an optimal bike setting for the circuit.
“This afternoon was very windy so it was very difficult to make the same lap time of the morning but we managed to improve it a little bit,” explained Lorenzo. “We adjusted the bike a little electronically and also the suspension. We are quite close to everyone and ready to keep working tomorrow.”
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow ended fourth-fastest. The British rider sustained a final lap low-side but luckily he was able to walk away unharmed. Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, notched the fifth-fastest time, almost half-a-second off the lead lap set by Marquez. Rossi stole headlines the previous day after he announced that he and Jeremy Burgess (Rossi’s Crew Chief for 14 seasons) would part ways after the end of this year’s championship.
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl finshed the day in sixth followed by Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista in seventh. Crutchlow’s teammate, Bradley Smith, was eighth-fastest trailed by Ducati duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden in ninth and 10th respectively.
Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro earned top placement among CRT riders in 13th, but soon after his quick lap the Spaniard crashed. Luckily he was unharmed, but time expired before he could try for a better lap.
MotoGP Valencia Friday Results 2013:
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’31.220
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’31.286
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’31.378
4. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’31.502
5. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’31.639
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’31.858
7. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’31.873
8. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’31.984
9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’32.363
10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1’32.395
11. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’32.596
12. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 1’32.756
13. Aleix Espargaro (ART) 1’32.809
14. Claudio Corti (FTR-Kawasaki) 1’33.172
15. Colin Edwards (FTR-Kawasaki) 1’33.252
16. Hector Barbera (FTR) 1’33.270
17. Danilo Petrucci (Ioda-Suter) 1’33.304
18. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’33.487
19. Randy de Puniet (ART) 1’33.570
20. Luca Scassa (ART) 1’34.049
21. Hiroshi Aoyama (FTR) 1’34.077
22. Michael Laverty (ART) 1’34.132
23. Bryan Staring (FTR-Honda) 1’35.478
24. Damian Cudlin (PBM) 1’35.644
25. Martin Bauer (S&B Suter) 1’35.832
26. Lukas Pesek (Ioda-Suter) 1’36.353
