Marquez and Pedrosa start preparation for the Dutch TT at sunny Assen

2018-06-29 13:17
Sunny weather (somewhat unusual but universally praised) welcomed the MotoGP field on the opening day of the Dutch TT at Assen, and with a favourable forecast continuing for the rest of the weekend, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa started their preparation for Sunday, working on the RC213V’s race setup.

After setting the fastest time in the morning, Marc continued his work on used tyres and wrapped up the day eighth fastest, just over 6 tenths off the top. In the afternoon, Dani improved his pace from FP1 and ended 11th fastest for the day, 0.126” behind his teammate.

Marc Marquez
8TH 1'34.041
“All in all, the day was quite good because here in Assen we normally struggle, whereas today I felt good with the bike from the beginning and was able to keep a good rhythm. The bike was a bit unstable, but we improved that with the setup. In the afternoon, we worked a lot for the race, on hard tyres. It looks like everything is going in the correct direction, but at the same time it seems that everything is very tight this weekend. The weather is good, so everyone can prepare well for the race. Choosing the right tyres will be important, especially the rear. We have two very similar options, and that can lead to an advantage or a mistake. We have to choose well.”

Marc Marquez
Dani Pedrosa
11TH 1'34.167
“As always, things are a bit difficult at this track, but some runs were better that others. Something we need to focus on is our performance with the soft tyre. Today we weren’t able to improve when we fitted it. Another area we need to address is the T4 sector of the track, where we want to perform better and be faster. For the rest, we’re getting on the rhythm and hopefully we’ll be able to exploit the good weather and take a step tomorrow.”

Dani Pedrosa
Free Practice Classification
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1
VINALES
Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'33.378
2
IANNONE
Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar 0.121
3
PETRUCCI
Danilo 9 ITA Alma Pramac Racing 0.386
4
ROSSI
Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 0.401
5
CRUTCHLOW
Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda 0.434
6
DOVIZIOSO
Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team 0.481
7
LORENZO
Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team

Source: Honda Racing Corporation

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