Positive start to the 2017 MotoGP season for Repsol Honda in Qatar

2017-03-24 20:23
Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa commenced their 2017 MotoGP campaign positively this evening in Qatar, setting the second- and third-fastest lap times, respectively, by the end of a single free-practice session that got underway at 7:55 p.m. local time.

The Repsol Honda riders constantly improved their speed throughout the 45 minute stint, with Marc recording his best effort in 1’54.912” on his 17th lap of 18 and Dani setting his fastest time of 1’55.212” on lap 15 of 16.

FP2 and FP3 will begin tomorrow at 6 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. local time, respectively.

Marc Marquez
2ND 1'54.912
“This first day was positive enough because two weeks ago we hadn’t finish the test so well, while today I had a better feeling with the bike. We started with a different setup compared to then and we did a good job. We have some work to do, especially on the electronics side, but that said I’m quite happy. Maverick is really fast but it was to be expected, and on our side we’re working hard in our garage to try and find a good compromise with the setup.”

Marc Marquez
Dani Pedrosa
3RD 1'55.210
“I’m happy with today. Even if the track conditions and the grip weren’t the best, we tried to push hard in case the weather gets worse tomorrow as the forecast says. It was important to be up front, because everybody is expecting some rain. I’m generally happy and I think we have already gathered a lot of good information. We’ll see how things go and keep working to do our best.”

Dani Pedrosa
Results Session

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1
VINALES
Maverick 25 SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Team 1'54.316
2
MARQUEZ
Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.596
3
PEDROSA
Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.894
4
FOLGER
Jonas 94 GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1.271
5
LORENZO
Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team 1.291
6
BAZ
Loris 76 FRA Reale Avintia Racing

Source: Honda Racing Corporation

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