Alex Marquez goes it alone on opening day in Andalucia

Progress continues for rookie Alex Marquez around the familiar Jerez circuit as he closes the distance to the front.

For the first time in Grand Prix racing history, two races in the same season were held back-to-back at the same circuit as the Andalucia GP began. Despite the different name, the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucía is taking place at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto where just five days ago the 2020 MotoGP season began. As with the previous weekend, conditions became progressively hotter throughout the day as teams continued to work on perfecting their setting.

Moto2 World Champion and MotoGP Rookie, Alex Marquez, was the lone representative of the Repsol Honda Team on Friday but his approach remained the same. Working on his overall pace and improving the areas he found lacking during his racing debut, he continued to make progress with the feeling of his Honda RC213V. Warmer afternoon conditions resulted in Alex’s 1’37.957 standing as his fastest time of the day – three tenths quicker than he went at this point last weekend and only 0.8s off the fastest rider. 15th position overall also saw Alex less than a tenth behind race-winner Fabio Quartararo, who won the Spanish GP last weekend.

Takaaki Nakagami finished the day as the fastest Honda rider, topping Free Practice 2 with a 1’37.715 and ending the day eighth fastest overall.

Marc Marquez will join his Repsol Honda Team team-mate on track for Free Practice 3 tomorrow, Saturday July 25, to assess his fitness after breaking his right humerus last Sunday and undergoing surgery on Tuesday.