Jorge Martin a strong 8th on opening day in Argentina

The GP of Argentina got underway on a dirty Termas de Río Honda circuit this morning and the lap times in Moto3 were slower than last year as a result but it wasn’t long before the pace intensified.

Riding high on confidence after his win in Texas just five days ago Danny Kent set the pace with a blistering lap this afternoon, his effort of 1.49.154 narrowly eclipsing the pole record set last year by Jack Miller (1’49.200).

MAPFRE Team Mahindra rookie Jorge Martín wasn’t even at this circuit last year but after watching hours and hours of video footage he took no time at all to adapt to the track today.

Martín set the eighth fastest lap of the day, just over a second off the benchmark set by Kent, and he is happy with his pace and setting.

After a heavy crash in Austin, Juanfran Guevara was not sure how his right hip would feel today but with the help of the staff in the Clinica Mobile he was able to clock the 24th fastest time, three places ahead of his team-mate Pecco Bagnaia.

8th Jorge Martín 1.50.291 (31 laps):
“I seem to be making a habit of setting some fast laps in Friday free practice but as usual I need to keep my feet on the ground. We spent most of the day working with used tyres and I felt really comfortable and happy with our pace. Once we had a clear idea for the suspension setting at the end of the day I put new tyres in and immediately set a consistent pace in the low 1’50s. I am happy with the position and the feeling on the first day here. Termas is a wide track with some fast corners, it suits my style and I like it. Our bike seems to suit it too. Tomorrow we worked mainly on the front suspension so tomorrow we will switch our attention to the rear.”

24th Juanfran Guevara 1.51.071 (35 laps):
“To be honest my hip is feeling better than I expected after the crash in Austin and I was able to ride without problems today. The Clinica Mobile are doing a great job and that means we can focus on the bike. This afternoon we set a faster time on the third lap, on a used tyre, than we had managed all morning. Then we switched to the harder rear but I didn’t like the grip so we switched back and put some new rubber in but I didn’t manage to drop the lap times as I’d hoped. I gained time in some sections but lost time in others, we’re not sure why that happened so we need to work it out tomorrow.”

Source: Aspar Media