Marquez and Lorenzo enjoy constant Friday improvements in Misano

Battling through the Misano heat, Marc Marquez ended the day as the third fastest rider while teammate Jorge Lorenzo found significant gains between sessions.

Without a cloud in sight, the Repsol Honda Team enjoyed a productive first day at the San Marino GP with an ambient temperature of 26°C and a track temperature of as high as 41°C in the afternoon. As a result of the earlier Misano test, the Repsol Honda Team were able to quickly establish a base setting and begin working on further refinements to meet the demands of the changing grip levels.

Marc Marquez continued to demonstrate the confidence aboard his Repsol Honda Team RC213V which has seen him open up a 78-point World Championship lead as he spent almost the entirety of Friday inside the top two. Able to steadily improve his time during the course of the day, Marquez and his team are pleased with what they achieved on Friday as they continue to focus their attentions on Sunday’s race. A best time of 1’33.171 ultimately saw the reigning champion end the day in third, 0.396s from Viñales.

Completing almost 40 laps across the two Free Practice sessions, Jorge Lorenzo was able to further assess his physical condition and deepen his understanding of the Honda RC213V around the Misano track. Improving his fastest lap time by over one second from FP1 to FP2, Lorenzo’s late 1’34.139 in Free Practice 2 saw him conclude the day in 17th overall and within one and a half seconds of the fastest time.

Running at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli resumes at 09:55 Local Time on Saturday, September 14, with Free Practice 3 – the final chance the riders have to enter the top ten to advance straight to Q2.