Steady Marquez second as Czech GP begins in Brno
Marc Marquez straight back to work as MotoGP action returns, second on Friday at the Czech GP as Stefan Bradl builds his speed in 14th.
After three weeks off for the mid-season MotoGP summer break, the Repsol Honda Team were straight back in to their working groove as round ten at the Automotodrom Brno got underway. Conditions remained clear over the two practice sessions, riders pushing hard during Free Practice 2 in case of rain on Saturday morning.
Fast from the start, Marquez led for much of Free Practice 1 before eventually settling for second place as other riders pushed exclusively for a fast lap. It was a busy FP2 session as well, Marquez and his team running through a variety of setup options. Switching to the soft rear in the final minutes of FP2, Marquez was able to improve to a 1’55.825 and end the day second fastest with one eye on Sunday.
Having finished FP1 in 22nd, Stefan Bradl improved his lap time by over two seconds to spend FP2 challenging for a spot in the top ten. Eventually ending in 14th, Bradl again showed strong pace aboard the Repsol Honda Team RC213V in the competitive MotoGP field.
The Czech GP continues at 09:55 local time Saturday, August 03, with Free Practice 3 and a mixed weather forecast looming.
Marc Marquez
“It was important to start well after the summer break and the bike was feeling good today, allowing us to try a mix of tyres, settings and some chassis options. We concentrated on the setup more than the one lap speed until the last run because tomorrow it looks like there is a big chance of rain. Tonight we will look at everything to better understand the positives and negatives to choose our best option for tomorrow. We are happy, happy with how the day went and we will see what tomorrow brings but we are in a good place.”
Stefan Bradl
“Well honestly today didn’t start well as it took me longer than expected to adjust back to MotoGP after Suzuka. But we made a big step from FP1 to FP2 and I was pleased with this, in FP2 I was able to get back the feeling I had in Germany. The improvements mean we ended the day well and I’m ready for the rest of the weekend where we have a busy schedule. Times are again very close but I think we can keep improving and close the gap to the leaders.”
Czech GP Combined Free Practice Classification
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Location Information
The world’s most famous riders have taken part in GP events in Brno since 1930, where up until 1982 they would race through the villages and western parts of the city on a road track named after the first Czechoslovak President – T.G. Masaryk.The only venue that has hosted more… read more.
| Length | 5.403 kilometres / 3.357 miles |
| Width | 15 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 8 |
| Longest straight | 0.636 kilometres / 0.395 miles |
| Constructed | 1987 |
| Modified | 1996 |
Automotodrom Brno, Brno, Czech Republic - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m54.596s (169.7 Km km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2016) |
| Race Lap | 1m 56.027s (167.6 km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2014) |
| Race Time | 41m07.728s (166.6 km/h) Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati, 2018) |
| 2020 Race Winner | Brad Binder (KTM) |
