Marc Marquez goes into the Australian round and beyond with trepidation but with a healthy amount of equations and chances taken. Friday was the most affected by bad weather, so riders were confined to a little time on the track, acquainting themselves to the new Phillip Island asphalt. Nonetheless, Marquez did not wait momentarily and set things on edge to claim a place in Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying. He knows that the decision taken on track can be of huge importance, particularly with tire degradation and weather, which are expected to play a role in the remaining races as the defending champion.
Climate Conditions and Short Minutes on Track
Friday’s activities were affected by bad weather, with FP1 not being held at all. This left the riders only one hour in the afternoon to get used to the new Phillip Island surface. The risk of practicing in a rainy environment also created pressure to post fast lap times as soon as possible because everyone had to qualify for Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying. After shortening up the practice session, Marc Marquez attacked the session from the get-go, going for a high risk at the top positions.
It proved invaluable, and though his last two laps were a bit slower at 1:27.770s, he was followed home by his brother Alex Marquez on a Gresini. The clockwise arrangement of Phillip Island seemed to fit Marquez best, and he said he was happy with his performance in the early parts of the event but admitted there was work to be done over the weekend.
Tyre Challenges for Marc Marquez and Uncertainty for Race Day
One of the biggest worries for all the riders is how these new Michelin rear tires would behave throughout a race. Michelin brought medium and hard tires with stiffer casing capable of addressing the thermal loads to the track. With limited track time and the threat of rain, one of the top riders of MotoGP, Marc Marquez’s team, finds it hard to gather valuable tire data. Marquez also mentioned that they’ve only gathered data from 15 laps on the tires, which isn’t enough. His expectations are high enough to see more progress and improvement shortly.
Final Thoughts
Having no data for long-distance runs, Marc Marquez still looks forward to the best performance in the race. He said Phillip Island is one of his favorite circuits, associated with good results in the past. However, the poor performances in the Q2 sessions of the recent past that saw him crash out in the last three out of four grands prix have seen him place so much emphasis on the Saturday quali session. Marc Marquez thinks his qualifying performance will play a central role in deciding his fate in the sprint and the main race on Sunday.
Throughout the rest of the weekend, Marc and his team will continue to fine-tune the machine and gather even more valuable data during practice. The weather is very unpredictable and combined with unknown test Info about the new track surface Saturday’s qualifying session will be decisive for Marc and his race and his attempt to score a good result at the Australian GP.
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