Marquez courageously earns second-row start, Pedrosa in fourth
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez bravely secured a positive second-row start for tomorrow’s Austrian GP despite suffering a heavy crash at turn 3 in the FP3 session. Marc avoided a clash with teammate Dani Pedrosa in the incident but briefly dislocated his left shoulder. He didn’t complete the session and later was taken to the hospital in the nearby town of Leoben for some precautionary exams. In any case, he had already improved enough on his Friday lap time to gain direct passage to Q2 with the ninth-best lap time, despite missing the “time attack” period that typically happens at the end of FP3.
Marc was given the all-okay at the hospital and returned to action in FP4 to set the fourth-fastest time. He then continued to display amazing determination as he fought for a good grid position in a closely contested session, and his time of 1’23.475, just 0.333s off pole-setter Andrea Iannone, earned him a very good fifth place.
Dani tried hard to make the best of the warmer conditions and effectively improved his pace compared to the opening day, but not by as much as he was hoping and expecting. Dani nevertheless remains focused and determined to work hard with his team to make the best result possible tomorrow and return to strength in this second part of the season.
Marc Marquez
“It was a tough day for us as we began the morning session with a crash in FP3 that was completely my mistake. I braked too late and went wide at turn 3, risking a clash with Dani who was in front on the outside line. To avoid him, I crashed and I dislocated my left shoulder. I decided, along with the doctor, to go to the hospital to check that everything was okay. Luckily it was just a scare, and I was able to ride in the afternoon despite being bruised up. In the end, I think fifth place is good. The goal was to be close to the podium spots, and we succeeded in that. Tomorrow we’ll try to get close to the two Yamahas, with the knowledge that the Ducatis have been faster until now, but we’ll give our best as usual.”
Dani Pedrosa
“With today’s higher temperatures, we were able to take a step forward from yesterday and I lowered my lap by two seconds, although it was a shame not to get into the 1’23 range. Even if I expected a better result, we’ll try to concentrate, get as much confidence as possible and be positive. We will look for possible solutions for the race; our intention is to go out and give everything we have and get references that help us to move forward. We want to improve this dynamic as soon as possible; the rider is the one who can contribute the most, so I want to do as well as possible.”
Results Session
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Location Information
The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg is located beautifully in the Murtal-region of Styria, Austria. The circuit was originally built in 1969, then known as the Österreichring. In 1996 it was rebuilt with the track-layout it still had when, in 2011, it was reopened as the Red Bull Ring and… read more.
| Length | 4.3 km / 2.68 miles |
| Width | 13 metres |
| Left corners | 3 |
| Right corners | 7 |
| Longest straight | 626 m / 2053.81 ft |
| Constructed | 1969 |
| Modified | 1996 |
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Steiermark, Austria - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m28.539s (176.7 Km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023) |
| Race Lap | 1m29.840s (174.2 Km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023) |
| Race Time | 42'14.886 (172.8 Km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2022) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2023 Sprint Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
