Marquez Ends Day 1 At Phillip Island Fastest
- Oct 16, 2015
- 2 min read
Conditions had improved somewhat from the morning session, with track temperature coming up to 26 degrees. The improved track allowed the riders to test the new asymmetric front tyre brought to Phillip Island.
Marc Marquez ended day in Australia fastest after a lap of 1:29.383 right at the end of the session. The Honda seems to be working very well at PI, its big issues masked by the circuit layout. The Spaniard has never even finished a premier class race in Australia and will be keen to rectify that with a win.
Marquez, and indeed Dani Pedrosa, could well be the fly in the Yamaha ointment this weekend which could be a massive help or hindrance to both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. The former has an eighteen-point gap to try and make up with just three rounds to go, and made his intentions clear with the 2nd fastest time of the day in a 1:29.433. Interestingly, Rossi did not fit a fresh rear slick at the end of the session and ended up 9th on a 1:30.041. Having been close to Lorenzo in FP1 and in the early part of FP2, the Italian won't be too disheartened at today's result.
Maverick Vinales really impressed on the Suzuki in 3rd. The Spaniard guided his GSX-RR to a lap of 1:29.518 on the Soft rear tyre. Suzuki should be in for a very good result this weekend as their chassis very much suits this circuit. Their lack of horsepower and seamless gearbox makes Vinales' time all the more commendable. Team-mate Aleix Espargaro completed the top ten with a 1:30.113.
Cal Crutchlow was fastest in the closing staged of the second free practice session for a brief moment, eventually falling to 5th. This weekend should be another good one for the Briton under normal circumstances, and the LCR rider will be keen to try and make up for his DNF twelve months ago when he was running 2nd on the Ducati. He was a few tenths faster than Pedrosa and a good half a-second clear of Satellite rival Bradley Smith, the Tech 3 rider just one hundredth ahead of Rossi in 8th.
Jack Miller was impressive again in FP2 after ending the morning session 5th. With the grid adjusted to a more representative picture in the afternoon, the fact that the Australian was only just outside the top ten in 11th on the Open Honda RC213V-RS highlights how much this circuit is all about the rider.
Full FP2 results can be found here: http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2015/AUS/MotoGP/FP2/Session.pdf?v1_70106995
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