Marc Marquez tops practice times at MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina, Australia’s Jack Miller fourth
TWICE world champion Marc Marquez set the fastest time in practice for the Grand Prix of Argentina, as Aussie Jack Miller got in on Honda’s dominance.
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TWO-time world champion Marc Marquez set the fastest time in Friday practice for the Grand Prix of Argentina, hammering home Honda’s dominance as bitter rivals Yamaha struggled.
Spanish rider Marquez, who won the 2014 race at this venue, clocked 1min 41.579sec with teammate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa 0.025sec off the pace. Maverick Vinales, on a Suzuki, was the third fastest, while Australia’s Jack Miller (Honda) was fourth, 0.796sec behind Marquez.
Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who won the season opener in Qatar, could only manage a lowly 14th place at 1.24 sec behind Marquez on a day when temperatures rocketed to the mid-30s.
The 28-year-old Lorenzo has always struggled at Rio Hondo, finishing fifth in 2015 and third last year.
“The track is much worse than last year and I don’t know why. There are some more bumps and less grip,” fumed the three-time world champion.
“It looks like our rivals are a lot better under these conditions. We hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow and that the tarmac improves a little bit.”
Teammate Valentino Rossi, marking 20 years as a world championship rider and the winner in Argentina in 2015, was seventh fastest on the other factory Yamaha, 0.986sec behind Marquez.
“It was a difficult day for everybody because these were challenging conditions,” said Rossi.
“The track was very dirty and in the afternoon it became better but it remained very slippery and also the temperature was very high so it was difficult to maintain the pace lap by lap.
“It looks like we suffered a bit with the lack of grip on the track, we slide and also the front tyre was not very good. We need to work.”
PRACTICE TIMES MOTOGP ARGENTINA
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 1:41.579, 2. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 0.025, 3. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Suzuki) 0.468, 4. Jack Miller (AUS/Honda Marc VDS) 0.796, 5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda) 0.872, 6. Scott Redding (GBR/Ducati Pramac) 0.879, 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 0.986, 8. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Suzuki) 0.997, 9. Bradley Smith (GBR/Yamaha Tech3) 1.016, 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 1.056. Selected: 14. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) at 1.240
Moto2: 1. Johann Zarco (FRA/Kalex) 1:44.533, 2. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Kalex) at 0.190, 3. Sam Lowes (GBR/Kalex) 0.235, 4. Jonas Folger (GER/Kalex) 0.340, 5. Alex Marquez (ESP/Kalex) 0.388
Moto3: 1. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Honda) 1:51.137, 2. Romano Fenati (ITA/KTM) at 0.105, 3. Andrea Migno (ITA/KTM) 0.166, 4. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.213, 5. Jorge Navarro (ESP/Honda) 0.274
Originally published as Marc Marquez tops practice times at MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina, Australia’s Jack Miller fourth
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