Cal Crutchlow and Dani Pedrosa on top; 15 riders within a second of each other!
Jerez, 4 May 2018: Independent Team rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) ruled the roost in the Gran Premio Red Bull de España as action ended on Friday at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto as the Gran Premio Red Bull de España got underway, with the Argentina GP winner taking to the top in FP2 and leader on the combined timesheets on Friday.
What does that mean? On a Friday as close as this, it means he was 0.028 clear of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in P2, 0.091 ahead of Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and still not even a tenth in front of Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in fourth.
As well as the incredible equality of the top four within a tenth, the top 15 ended Day 1 within a second and the whole grid was covered by two seconds – a tantalising prospect for race day if it remains the same.
The headlines didn’t stop there. The 2017 Jerez winner Pedrosa, who is still recovering from a broken wrist, put in a stunning performance once again to not only threaten the top but also show some key consistency with Zarco just behind him and top Yamaha.
Iannone kept his solid form rolling after his rostrum finish in Texas, just ahead of what was another key moment of the day: reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), despite having shown awesome pace throughout both sessions, crashing out towards the end of FP2 – rider ok.
Marc Marquez shrugs off FP2 crash
It was 27 crashes in 2017 for Marquez, and the reigning Champion says that FP2 is the time to push and try and find the limit – something that also rang a little true on Day 1 in Jerez this season. Fast all day but not fastest, the rider from Cervera took a tumble in the afternoon.
“I was on very used tyres,” explained Marquez, quickly finding the silver lining, “But even with a lot of laps on the front and rear, I had a good rhythm low 39s, which is more important. Then I braked too late and I crashed, but now I know for Sunday!”
That’s another recurring theme in ‘Marquez style’ – finding the limit before the lights go out for the race. So crash aside, how does the number 93 debrief their first day on track?
“On Day 1, the general feeling was very, very positive,” he smiled. “I enjoyed it on the track and this is the most important thing. I’m happy with how I feel on with bike, and we’ll see if we can improve or make another step tomorrow.”
That includes some more tyre combinations to try, as the Repsol Honda rider explained the program so far: “This morning, I tried soft front, soft rear, then in the afternoon I tried medium front, medium rear so tomorrow will be the time to try hard front, heard rear. I want to check everything, it will be important to choose the right tyre and to do that, you need to try everything!”
Andrea Dovizioso sixth quickest
The man right behind Marquez after Day 1 was Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who went fastest in FP1, with his teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking seventh on Friday at the track at which he took his first podium in red in 2017.
Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was the top Independent Team Ducati rider in P8 overall after more solid top ten pace, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) taking ninth overall after a late move up from outside provisional Q2 entry.
The man completing the top ten was Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), after the Spaniard put in an incredible charge in FP1 to end that session in third and the day in tenth overall.
Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was P12 and will have his sights set significantly further up the timesheets on Saturday, as will Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who was P14 but missed the Spanish GP in 2017 due to injury, turning a wheel in anger at the venue for the first time this year. Wildcard Mika Kallio, riding a first version of the 2019 machine for Red Bull KTM Factory racing, was P16 on Day 1.
Everything’s open, everything’s close and everything’s set up for a Saturday to remember.
Rossi searching for better balance on Saturday
Rossi lamented the increase in track temperatures on Day 1 with the ‘Doctor’ ending Friday P9 on the timesheets. The Movistar Yamaha team struggled more with lower grip at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto last year, and it seems Rossi’s difficulties in hotter temperatures could still be haunting him in 2018 – despite him going quicker in FP2.
“It was a difficult day, especially in the afternoon because in the morning I was not so bad with the cold, but unfortunately with the higher temperature we suffer more,” explained the 39-year-old. “I’m not happy with the balance of the bike, we need to improve, but also, we are in trouble with the tyres. After some laps, we lose grip and it looks like we slow down more than our opponents, so I think it will be difficult, but it’s still Friday, we need to work and improve and try to understand better tomorrow.”
Source: Motogp.com
