Álex Márquez starts strong in Brno practice

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez showed today why is being tipped to battle for a maiden Moto2 World Championship podium at the Brno track in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Spaniard came flying out of the gate in stunning fashion in this morning’s FP1 session, which took place under threatening grey clouds and cooler temperatures than expected.

Márquez posted the fastest time of 2.02.611 this morning to lead the field by 0.160s, with only Jonas Folger, Takaaki Nakagami and Danny Kent lapping within half-a-second of his fastest pace.

In considerably hotter conditions this afternoon, Márquez opted to dedicate the majority of his time on track to fine-tuning the race set-up of his Kalex machine on Dunlop’s hard option rear tyre rather than pushing for one hot lap on softer rubber.

As a result he slipped down the rankings to sixth on the combined standings but his pace on worn tyres suggests Márquez will be a leading protagonist in Sunday’s 20-lap race.

Álex Márquez: 6th – 2’02.611
“We made a really good first day in Brno. I felt strong right from the beginning of FP1 because we made a test here during the summer break and that definitely helped. This afternoon my main concentration was on race pace and getting a good set-up on used tyres. I was happy with my pace on the hard rear tyre, so that gives me confidence for Sunday. I did put in a new soft tyre at the end of the session and I wasn’t completely comfortable. It doesn’t seem to suit my riding style, so we will check again tomorrow but right now I am faster on a 20-lap old hard tyre than a brand new soft tyre. We will definitely need to improve on the soft for qualifying but my rhythm for the race is really strong.”

Source – Team Estrella Galicia