Practice 1

Repsol Honda sent out a message to their rivals as Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa topped the first Free Practice session at the Gran Premi de Catalunya in Barcelona.  With track temperatures reaching 28 degrees, despite overhead cloud, it was Marquez who led the way with a 1’41.808 as he benefitted from a new exhaust on his RC213V. The team brought a number of updates to Barcelona to try to solve their woes, and they seem to be working, as Pedrosa was just 0.210s back from his teammate in second.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro made use of the extra power from the engine update to his GSX-RR to finish in third, after lapping consistently in the low 1’42’s. Jorge Lorenzo (+0.650s) on the Movistar Yamaha was fourth fastest, ahead of Maverick Viñales (+0.747s) on the second GSX-RR and Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez (+0.786s).

Practice 2

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro delighted his home fans at the Catalan GP by ending the day on top of the combined timesheets.

It was thrilling first day of MotoGP™ Free Practice at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya in Barcelona that ended with Aleix Espargaro sending the fans home happy after he ended the day on top of the timesheets.

Conditions improved throughout the day with track temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius by FP2, which led to most riders improving their times in the afternoon practice session. The weather forecast for Saturday is mixed, therefore an extra emphasis was placed on Friday’s practice sessions, as if it rains tomorrow, today’s times could decide who makes it through automatically to Q2.

It was frantic last few minutes of FP2 as riders whacked on new slicks and headed out on track to put in one last flying lap. Espargaro left it until late to put in a 1’42.183, just 0.3s off Andrea Dovizioso’s 2014 lap record. The Catalan rider clearly benefitting from the engine upgrades to his GSX-RR machine.

The Repsol Honda’s of Marc Marquez (+0.285s) was the only man to get within half a second of the leading Suzuki as he debuted a new exhaust on his RC213V. His teammate Dani Pedrosa (+0.0631s) was in third ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (+0.665s) who, along with his teammate Iannone, was sporting modified winglets on his GP15 to cope with the higher curbs at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Team Suzuki Ecstar enjoyed a day to remember as Maverick Viñales (+0.764s) also showed good pace on the second GSX-RR to finish in fifth.

Results FP1 & FP2:

 

Pos Nº Rider Team Motorbike Laps Best Gap
1 93 Marc Màrquez SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 17 1’41.808 +341.3
2 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 21 1’42.018 +0.210
3 41 Aleix Espargaró SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 16 1’42.183 +0.375
4 99 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 17 1’42.458 +0.650
5 25 Maverick Viñales SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 18 1’42.555 +0.747
6 68 Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing DUCATI 17 1’42.594 +0.786
7 69 Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team HONDA 19 1’42.623 +0.815
8 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 19 1’42.938 +1.130
9 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 18 1’42.945 +1.137
10 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda HONDA 18 1’42.957 +1.149
11 29 Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 18 1’42.981 +1.173
12 45 Scott Redding GBR EG 0.0 Marc VDS HONDA 23 1’43.002 +1.194
13 17 Karel Abraham CZE AB Motoracing HONDA 18 1’43.008 +1.200
14 44 Pol Espargaro SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 18 1’43.116 +1.308
15 38 Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 21 1’43.378 +1.570
16 6 Stefan Bradl GER Athinà Forward Racing YAMAHA FORWARD 19 1’43.536 +1.728
17 8 Héctor Barberá SPA Avintia Racing DUCATI 14 1’44.059 +2.251
18 50 Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team HONDA 21 1’44.062 +2.254
19 43 Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda HONDA 19 1’44.357 +2.549
20 76 Loris Baz FRA Athinà Forward Racing YAMAHA FORWARD 16 1’44.594 +2.786
21 9 Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing DUCATI 17 1’44.603 +2.795
22 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 19 1’44.676 +2.868
23 63 Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing DUCATI 15 1’44.768 +2.960
24 15 Alex De Angelis RSM E-Motion IodaRacing Team ART 17 1’44.865 +3.057
25 33 Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 17 1’45.270 +3.462
Pos Nº Rider Team Motorbike Laps Best Gap
1 41 Aleix Espargaró SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 17 1’41.158
2 93 Marc Màrquez SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 18 1’41.443 +0.285
3 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 19 1’41.789 +0.631
4 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team Ducati 16 1’41.823 +0.665
5 25 Maverick Viñales SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 18 1’41.922 +0.764
6 29 Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team Ducati 19 1’41.938 +0.780
7 99 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 17 1’42.034 +0.876
8 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda Honda 17 1’42.044 +0.886
9 44 Pol Espargaro SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 20 1’42.313 +1.155
10 45 Scott Redding GBR EG 0.0 Marc VDS Honda 16 1’42.354 +1.196
11 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 20 1’42.367 +1.209
12 68 Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 19 1’42.417 +1.259
13 38 Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 21 1’42.645 +1.487
14 8 Hector Barbera SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 13 1’42.697 +1.539
15 76 Loris Baz FRA Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 15 1’42.968 +1.810
16 9 Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 19 1’42.995 +1.837
17 69 Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 19 1’43.110 +1.952
18 50 Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team Honda 19 1’43.351 +2.193
19 43 Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda Honda 16 1’43.369 +2.211
20 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 19 1’43.463 +2.305
21 17 Karel Abraham CZE AB Motoracing Honda 16 1’43.562 +2.404
22 63 Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 15 1’43.760 +2.602
23 6 Stefan Bradl GER Athinà Forward Racing Yamaha Forward 17 1’43.851 +2.693
24 15 Alex De Angelis RSM E-Motion IodaRacing Team Art 18 1’44.614 +3.456
25 33 Marco Melandri ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 16 1’45.323 +4.165

 

 

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