Marc Marquez set the fastest time in today’s FP1 session at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas with his best lap of 2’05.530”. With riders reporting the track to be relatively dirty and lacking in grip following the recent work done in an effort to smooth the bumps, lap times were still quite far from the track records.

Dani Pedrosa, who was dealing with pain and a lack of strength following last week’s surgery to his right wrist, ended the session in 21st place, a few seconds off the top. He will take part in this afternoon’s FP2 session.

Comments after this morning’s Americas GP Free Practice 1

Marc Marquez

1st 2'05.530

“It’s not easy when the track is slippery, as it was this morning, but I had the opportunity to make some difference as those conditions are one of my strong points. Of course it was only FP1, so we hope to be able to continue at this level. Anyway, the asphalt conditions improved little by little during the session, but unfortunately the bumps are still there, possibly worse than last year. This makes everything more difficult and trickier. We must work to understand where the best lines are and what the best rhythm is. We kept the same tyres for the entire session and so far I felt quite good.”

Dani Pedrosa

21st 2'09.111

“Honestly, this first ‘test’ has been quite difficult. This is a tough track, and I’m struggling a lot doing almost everything here, especially in changes of direction and on braking. I tried to make a progressive run to see how I felt. The pain is what I expected, but I hoped to have more strength. We’ll see this afternoon in FP2 if the pain increases or not. If it stays the same, that will be a good sign that I’ll have some possibilities; if it gets any worse… things will be tougher. The condition of the asphalt doesn’t help, as there’s no grip and the surface is quite dusty. The work they did didn’t helped with the bumps, and it lowered the grip.”

MotoGP 2018
Practice Round 3   Americas

FP1 Classification

Dry
Humidity
54%
Track Temp
21°C
Air Temp
17°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'05.530
2 Rossi Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.396
3 Vinales Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.727
4 Lorenzo Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.950
5 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda Honda 1.009
6 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1.204
7 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1.480
8 Iannone Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1.563
9 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 1.594
10 Rins Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1.681
11 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1.901
12 Redding Scott 45 GBR Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1.929
13 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1.993
14 Rabat Tito 53 SPA Esponsorama Racing Ducati 2.132
15 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA Angel Nieto Team Ducati 2.344
16 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 2.418
17 Smith Bradley 38 GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 2.631
18 Luthi Tom 12 SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 2.704
19 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 2.842
20 Syahrin Hafizh 55 MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 3.289
21 Pedrosa Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 3.581
22 Abraham Karel 17 CZE Angel Nieto Team Ducati 3.797
23 Miller Jack 43 AUS Pramac Racing Ducati 4.178
24 Simeon Xavier 10 BEL Esponsorama Racing Ducati 4.896
Location Information

The Circuit Of The Americas is the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the U.S. near Austin, Texas, with a 5.513km track and a capacity for 120,000 fans. Construction of the impressive 1000-acre facility was completed late in 2012, with MotoGP lining up at the track for the first time… read more.

Length 5.513 kilometres / 3.426 miles
Width 15 metres
Left corners 11
Right corners 9
Longest straight 1.2 kilometres / 0.746 miles
Constructed 2012
Modified 2018 (track repairs to the surface to smooth down bumps)

9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd Austin, TX 78617 - View in Google Maps

circuitoftheamericas.com

Records

Pole Position 2m 02.039s (162.6 km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2022)
Race Lap 2m 03.521s (160.6 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2022)
Race Time 41m 23.11s (159.8 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2022)
2022 Race Winner Enea Bastianini (Ducati)