Marquez and Pedrosa get first taste of Argentina track
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have had their first experience on the new Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina. The first 45 minute FP1 session was delayed – as a result of the Moto3 session being postponed due to electrical issues in the pit lane – and was almost victim to the same problem when the power went down just two minutes before the start of the session. However, power was restored just in time and World Champion, Marc Marquez, was the first MotoGP rider out on track.
Marc was fastest on a very dirty track for the beginning of the session until the other riders caught up as they all took their time to familiarise themselves with the new 4.806km circuit, located 1100km North West of Buenos Aires. At the end of FP1 Marc was 14th with a best time of 1’45.103 (lap 3 of 16) and Dani in 16th with 1’45.724 (lap 14 of 20), both Repsol Honda riders remained on the same tyre for the duration of the session, whilst others put on a fresh tyre at the end.
FP2 will begin at 14h05 local time.
Marc Marquez
“The feeling is quite good and the track seems nice, but the grip level was pretty low. The tyre life was very, very short and after just three laps it was completely destroyed - especially in the beginning. I am confident we will improve this afternoon when the track conditions are better!”
Dani Pedrosa
“This morning we didn’t learn very much as after two or three laps the rear tyre was destroyed and we chose not to put on a new tyre in this session but instead wait until this afternoon - when I’m sure the track conditions will be better.”
Location Information
The Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is located 6km from the city which gives the venue its name, in the Province of Santiago del Estero. It was built in a 150 hectare area and officially inaugurated on May 11, 2008, during the visit of Argentina´s Touring Car Racing championship. In… read more.
| Length | 4.806 kilometres / 2.986 miles |
| Width | 16 metres |
| Left corners | 5 |
| Right corners | 9 |
| Longest straight | 1.076 kilometres / 0.669 miles |
| Constructed | 2008 |
| Modified | 2013 |
| Resurfacing | Partly resurfaced before 2018 GP |
Autódromo Provincial Termas de Río Hondo, Termas de Río Hondo, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 37.683s (177.1km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2014) |
| Race Lap | 1m 39.019s (174.7 km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015) |
| Race Time | 34m13.628s (168.4 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2016) *shortened race |
| 2022 Race Winner | Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) |
