Newsletter

Equality between the applicants and Márquez at his level

Marc Márquez, at the Phillip Island circuit. / Afp

GP Australia

After the first day of free practice in Australia, the three candidates for the MotoGP title meet the goal of qualifying among the top ten.

Once the first day of the Australian Grand Prix is ​​over, the three contenders for the MotoGP crown will sleep soundly. And it is that the particular free practice system of the championship prevents them from relaxing at any time, especially on weekends conditioned by the weather, such as this one from Phillip Island. The three ‘free practices’ (FP1, FP2 and FP3) that take place between Friday and Saturday morning decide the passage to Q2, where the pilots play the first four rows of the grid. But only the ten best classified of the combined of the three FPs have direct access. The rest is condemned to Q1, where only the two best times are picked up for the final Q2. In other words, except for FP4, which takes place just before qualifying practice and is the only really ‘free’ practice, all practice sessions count in MotoGP.

That is why it can be said that the favorites have fulfilled their objective on Friday: to be among the top ten. And if FP3 on Saturday morning takes place in wet or mixed conditions, they will already have their place in Q2. Fabio Quartararo has achieved the fourth fastest time, Aleix Espargaró the seventh and Pecco Bagnaia the eighth. The French rider has been seen very fast in his first contact with Phillip Island, on a high-speed track, with few strong braking and acceleration points, just the weak point of his Yamaha. Thus, for the first time in a long time, he was heard to say that he had left a tenth in his pocket for Saturday. After the fiasco in Thailand, the defending champion needs a show of strength, even if it is in the psychological battle. Aleix Espargaró picked up the glove, who although he recognized that Quartararo started a step ahead, did not give it much importance: «I expected more Fabio. He has been fast on the fastest lap, but in terms of pace he has not been ‘mega’ and I think that tomorrow everyone will improve ».

Johann Zarco has led the two free practices on Friday, where we have seen the rebirth of the Honda. In FP1 Álex Márquez set the third fastest time and in FP2 it was Pol Espargaró who achieved it. The most regular of the brand was once again Marc Márquez, seventh in the morning and sixth in the afternoon, and in very similar times to those of the favorites. And that despite losing part of the session trying new things on his bike. Among them, an aerodynamic package that includes two small spoilers on the tail of the Honda, similar to the one already carried by the Ducati. Despite the fact that these tests weigh down the short term of a grand prix, it was Márquez himself who defended them: «We have to bet on these changes. It’s not the best way to get a great result this weekend, but it is the best way to do it next season.”

In champion positions

The Balearic rider Izan Guevara faces his first championship ball in the Moto3 category in Australia. With 49 rental points and 75 at stake, he has many combinations to secure the title and it would be worth taking two points in the race from Dennis Foggia, also taking into account the result of the third challenger, Sergio García. In any case, Friday’s result would make him champion on Sunday: Guevara finished fourth, just ahead of García and Foggia. And this despite the fact that he started the day with a crash without consequences in the first free practice of the day and that he is the only one of the three who did not know the Phillip Island circuit.

It was also a good Friday for the Spanish options in the intermediate category, where Augusto Fernández and Ai Ogura are separated by just 1.5 points. The Balearic rider finished the first day with the seventh fastest time while the Japanese could only be 17th. Still with mathematical options is Arón Canet, third in discord, who has concluded with the sixth fastest time. At dawn from Friday to Saturday, the timed practices that will configure the grids of the three categories in this Australian Grand Prix will be held.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending