This is Marc Marquez land; the four-time MotoGP Champion has won every round there from pole since the venue joined MotoGP in 2013.Suzuki’s Andrea IannoneAs Marquez looks to make it six for six, he was quick Friday. But not quick enough. Marquez, who was penalized three separate times in Argentina, and suffered a small crash Friday at COTA, finished second – 0.056 off the top time.Leading the opening day of practice at Circuit of the Americas was Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Andrea Iannone, the “Maniac” posting a quickest time of 2:04.599. To put this time into perspective the Fastest Lap at COTA (Marquez, 2014, qualifying) is a 2:02.135.Honda’s Marc Marquez“I have a good feeling at this circuit, and a good feeling with the bike,” Andrea Iannone said. “The conditions are difficult because the track is dirty, but it’s the same for everybody. I’m really happy because we worked in a good way today, and the most important thing is to continue like this tomorrow and remain focused.“For sure the target for us is to stay at the top during qualifying, because overtaking is difficult so it’s better to start at the front for the race. It’s hard to recover from the back, and harder to show our potential. We hope to improve tomorrow, and I believe that anything is possible because I feel positive and ready to fight for the top.”Yamaha’s Maverick VinalesWhen Friday ended, the top eight riders were within a second of each other. Finishing behind Marquez were the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP duo of Maverick Vinales (-0.264) and Valentino Rossi (-0.359).Yamaha’s Valentino RossiFifth went to Argentina winner Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda Castrol RC213V, the Brit once again the top Independent Team Rider.Rounding out the top 10 in combined results Friday were Team Suzuki’s Alex Rins, the Ducati Team of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Esparagaro and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.The riders return to the Austin Formula 1 circuit Saturday for two additional free practices followed by qualifying. There’s a threat of rain, so we may see something new happen at COTA – but it’d be hard to bet against the King of the Lone Star State Marc Marquez.Photo by Luciano BianchettoDucati’s Jorge Lorenzo
2018 Austin MotoGP Friday Practice Results, Combined:
1. Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’04.599 2. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 2’04.655 0.056 / 0.056 3. Maverick VIÑALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 2’04.863 0.264 / 0.208 4. Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 2’04.958 0.359 / 0.095 5. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL 2’05.088 0.489 / 0.130 6. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 2’05.452 0.853 / 0.364 7. Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 2’05.487 0.888 / 0.035 8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 2’05.647 1.048 / 0.160 9. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’05.739 1.140 / 0.092 10. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 2’05.761 1.162 / 0.022 11. Danilo PETRUCCI Alma Pramac Racing 2’05.889 1.290 / 0.128 12. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing 2’05.910 1.311 / 0.021 13. Johann ZARCO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.933 1.334 / 0.023 14. Jack MILLER Alma Pramac Racing 2’06.016 1.417 / 0.083 15. Scott REDDING Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 2’06.078 1.479 / 0.062 16. Hafizh SYAHRIN Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’06.219 1.620 / 0.141 17. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU 2’06.397 1.798 / 0.178 18. Karel ABRAHAM Angel Nieto Team 2’06.555 1.956 / 0.158 19. Thomas LUTHI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 2’06.625 2.026 / 0.070 20. Franco MORBIDELLI EG 0,0 Marc VDS 2’06.640 2.041 / 0.015 21. Alvaro BAUTISTA Angel Nieto Team 2’06.683 2.084 / 0.043 22. Bradley SMITH Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’07.033 2.434 / 0.350 23. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2’07.136 2.537 / 0.103 24. Xavier SIMEON Reale Avintia Racing 2’08.021 3.422 / 0.885
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This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!