2014 Jerez MotoGP Friday Practice Results | Aleix Espargaro Fastest

2014 Jerez MotoGP Friday Practice Results

Following a one-week break, the fourth round of 2014 MotoGP got underway Friday with the opening two free practices at Spain’s Jerez circuit.

And though he wasn’t the leader in the afternoon Free Practice 2 session, Aleix Espargaro was the quickest rider overall. The NGM Forward Racing Yamaha pilot posted a 1:39.357 at Jerez during the cooler morning FP1 session.

But when the riders got out for FP2, Aleix’s fellow countryman – the reigning MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez – was quickest with a 1:39.757. This is a special weekend for Marquez, considering he’s starting his 100th GP this week.

“Today was a positive first day at a track where I had a lot of difficulty last year. It seems as if this year we are at the same level as the faster riders like Dani (Pedrosa), Lorenzo and Rossi right from the start, and this is obviously important,” Marquez says.

“With that accomplished, we have also tried to work on things, but it was much easier to set a fast lap and pace this morning, than when the temperatures rose this afternoon. I think that everyone had grip issues, due to the track temperatures reaching 50 degrees. Tomorrow, we will try to take another step forward and work towards qualifying and the race.”

Following the Repsol Honda RC213V pilot – who won the opening three rounds of MotoGP – was Aleix, who was 0.216 of a second behind in FP2.

“This morning we had good pace and the time was really quick immediately, but in the afternoon it was so hot and the feeling was like riding on ice. It felt very slippery but even so with a race tire we felt quite good and the pace was not bad,” Aleix says.

Third quickest was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who trailed 0.271 of a second back on the GP14. Dovi’s teammate Cal Crutchlow missed last weekend’s round due to a finger injury sustained during a crash at Circuit of the Americas. He returned this weekend, and was 15th quickest while riding with the injured hand.

Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi was next, the Italian 0.368 of a second off Marquez’s time. Rossi is the most successful pilot at Jerez, having won six premier-class rounds there. Rossi finished just ahead of his Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate, Jorge Lorenzo.

The Spaniard, who will start his 200th GP this weekend, took his first podium of 2014 with a third at Argentina’s Termas de Rio Hondo.

Rounding out the top 10 during FP2 was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, Pramac Racing Ducati’s Andrea Iannone and Drive M7 Aspar Honda’s Nicky Hayden.

There were three crashes involving Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar), Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), but no riders were injured.

The 24-rider grid returns to Jerez Saturday morning for the final two free practices ahead of qualifying.

2014 Jerez MotoGP Free Practice 2 Results: