Marquez Quickest as Private MotoGP Test Wraps in Austin

By
Sam Sims
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Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez

2013 MotoGP Private Test at Circuit of the Americas

Three days of private testing at Circuit of the Americas in Austin wrapped up Friday afternoon with the rookie Marc Marquez continuing to lead.

During the Wednesday and Thursday sessions, the Repsol Honda RC213V rider led ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, and LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl.

Marquez’s quickest time up to Friday was a 2:04.363 around the 3.41-mile circuit containing 20 turns. But on Friday, things got much quicker. Marquez was able to leave Texas with the quickest MotoGP lap time so far at COTA – a 2:03.281, over a second quicker than the previous days’ best times.

Marquez would end the day 0.617 of a second quicker than Pedrosa, with Bradl just under a second behind, and the wildcard CRT rider for Austin MotoGP – Attack Performance Kawasaki’s Blake Young, who would post a 2:12.186.

As for Rossi and Lorenzo, they wrapped up the testing on Thursday, the team reportedly having enough data to move ahead.

On Friday, Marquez put in 60 laps while the 20-year old focused on the Honda RC213V’s bike setup. Pedrosa spent most of the day fine-tuning his gearbox. The Spaniard, who finished second overall in points last season behind Lorenzo, was forced to end his day early due to neck pain, which has yet to be identified.

Bradl reportedly struggled, dealing braking issues at the circuit that will host round 2 of the 2013 MotoGP Championship April 19-21. And as for Young, AMA Superbike rider was able to complete 42 laps at COTA.

MotoGP reports that in the paddock, Bridgestone continued to evaluate proceedings as it looked to choose which tire compounds will be used for the second race of the season in Austin next month. With much data having been collected, this will now be sent back to the company’s headquarters in Japan before a decision is announced during the Official MotoGP Pre-Season Test at Jerez, running for three days from Saturday of next week.

2013 Austin MotoGP Private Testing Results, Day 3:

  1. Marc Márquez – Repsol Honda Team – 60 laps – 2’03.281

  2. Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – 24 laps – 2’03.898

  3. Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – 43 laps – 2’04.225

  4. Blake Young – Attack Performance – 42 laps – 2’12.186 (CRT class)

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