Photo: motogp.com
Friday was a good day for reigning champion Marc Marquez at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas as the young Honda gun topped both Free Practice sessions. If FP1 he lead Aleix Espargaro by .887s, but he extended the gap to just over a second in FP2.
In FP1, Dani Pedrosa lapped third fastest, followed by Valentino Rossi and Ducati’s Andrea Doviziozo for the top five. Next in line, FP1 saw Bradley Smith, Cal Crutchlow, Stefan Bradl, Andrea Iannone and Alvaro Bautista. Jorge Lorenzo seemed to be still battling with something.
We know that Bridgestone has brought the 2013-spec tires at the COTA, so there should be no problems like those caused to some riders by the heat-resistant compound the 2014 tires come with. Still, as the teams set their bikes for the 2014 tires at Losail in Round 1, we might see improvements on the go.
As mentioned above, Free Practice 2 saw Marquez being even faster, with his broken leg in much better condition than in Qatar. Surprisingly, but much to our excitement, Dovizioso was the second-fastest, 1.005s behind Marquez, followed by the same Pedrosa in third, leading Iannone and Rossi. Aleix Espargaro dropped to 6th position, ahead of Bradl and Lorenzo, with Crutchlow and Smith for top 10.
So far we can tell that the battle in the 2014 MotoGP championship is only getting fiercer, with the elder of the Espargaro brothers constantly faster than factory-supported machines, and Lorenzo having to fight his way through the field. Wonder what will the rest of the FP and Q sessions bring. As for the Sunday race, it’s definitely going to be a spectacular one, on a spectacular track.
We know that Bridgestone has brought the 2013-spec tires at the COTA, so there should be no problems like those caused to some riders by the heat-resistant compound the 2014 tires come with. Still, as the teams set their bikes for the 2014 tires at Losail in Round 1, we might see improvements on the go.
As mentioned above, Free Practice 2 saw Marquez being even faster, with his broken leg in much better condition than in Qatar. Surprisingly, but much to our excitement, Dovizioso was the second-fastest, 1.005s behind Marquez, followed by the same Pedrosa in third, leading Iannone and Rossi. Aleix Espargaro dropped to 6th position, ahead of Bradl and Lorenzo, with Crutchlow and Smith for top 10.
So far we can tell that the battle in the 2014 MotoGP championship is only getting fiercer, with the elder of the Espargaro brothers constantly faster than factory-supported machines, and Lorenzo having to fight his way through the field. Wonder what will the rest of the FP and Q sessions bring. As for the Sunday race, it’s definitely going to be a spectacular one, on a spectacular track.
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