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Practice report

Marquez leads the way on day one at Indianapolis

Championship leader leads Repsol Honda one two in first two sessions

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Repsol Media

Marc Marquez picked up right where he left off before the summer break with the Repsol Honda rider dominating on day one ahead of the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa who was nipping at Marquez’s heels throughout the day and LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl sitting in third position.

I think we're going in the right direction, so tomorrow we will continue as we have been doing so far.

Marc Marquez

While Marquez set a 1m 39.502s and Pedrosa slightly behind on a 1m 39.582s lap main rival Jorge Lorenzo wasn’t up to speed as quick on the Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 and finished in 4th place today with a best time of 1m 39.765s. Cal Crutchlow was working hard on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (1m 39.813s) to stay ahead of Valentino Rossi with the Yamaha Factory Racing rider setting a best lap of 1m 40.084s.

Sitting in 7th on the Go&Fun Honda Gresini is Alvaro Bautista who put in strong performance with a best lap 1m 40.087s with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Bradley Smith in 8th place with a 1m 40.240s lap while Nicky Hayden finished his first day in 9th with a best time of 1m 40.433s on the Ducati Team GP13 while his teammate Andrea Dovizioso finished close behind in 10th with a 1m 40.552s lap. Aleix Espargaro was the fastest CRT rider today for the Power Electronics Aspar team with a best time of 1m 40.750s with Danilo Petrucci in 12th on a best time of 1m 41.099s.

The returning Ben Spies had a decent first day back on track after a lengthy lay off and the Ignite Pramac Racing rider 1m 41.145s and his teammate Andrea Iannone finished closely behind with a best lap of 1m 41.444s. Claudio Corti ended his first day in 15th for the NGM Forward Racing team on a best lap of 1m 41.552s and the Italian rider finished in front of his teammate Colin Edwards who set a best time of 1m 41.588s. Hector Barbera ended the day in 17th on the Avintia Blusens with a best time of 1m 41.814s while Randy De Puniet was off the pace a little and set the 18th best time for the Power Electronics Aspar team setting a best time of 1m 41.956s.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Repsol Media

Yonny Hernandez finished the day in 19th place for the Paul bird Motorsport team setting a best time of 1m 42.088s while Hiroshi Aoyama was the final rider in the top 20 with the Avintia Blusens rider setting a 1m 42.808s lap. Lukas Pesek took the 21st best time of 1m 42.828s with the Came IodaRacing rider finishing one place ahead of Karel Abraham who crashed heavily this morning but managed to take part in this afternoon’s session after being passed fit to take part on a best time (1m 42.927s). Australian Bryan Staring set the 23rd best time of 1m 43.253s ahead of Paul Bird Motorsport rider Michael Laverty finished in 24th place with a time of 1m 43.741s and wildcard rider Blake Young on the Attack Performance Racing entry in 25th with a best time of 1m 45.590s.

Marquez was very happy with his performance and also to be back on his RC213V. He said, “Today went pretty well. After the break it was important to regain confidence on the bike. The truth is that I felt comfortable almost immediately. I tried to stay calm during the first few laps, as they are the most delicate and I'm happy with how the day went. The track improved a lot in terms of grip from session to session, so tomorrow we will likely see the times come down again. I think we're going in the right direction, so tomorrow we will continue as we have been doing so far.”

Pedrosa had a day of halves today but in the afternoon he got back to the top of the timings. Speaking after the end of this afternoon’s session he said, "Today we went on track in both sessions, unlike at Laguna Seca. During the first session I felt a little strange when riding and I was a stiff on the bike, but in the second session I went faster because I loosened up a lot. Let's see if tomorrow we can improve the feel on the bike and take some more off our lap time.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP

Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation

Despite a fall in the morning session, Bradl got back up to speed quickly and was very happy with his first day saying, “The first day was quite good for us: we have a good speed and I feel quite comfortable with the bike. Early in the afternoon session we struggled a bit with the front end and I suffered a little crash. We immediately found a solution and I could go back to my normal pace. Actually the track surface is not as good as it will be tomorrow and on Sunday, so we need to wait until the track is in better conditions. So far we are in the right direction and I am pleased with the 3rd lap time because it’s a good way to start the weekend."

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