Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez further proved Friday why he’s the clear favorite for this weekend’s 14th round of MotoGP at Motorland Aragon.The 26-year-old Spaniard finished the opening day of free practice at his home circuit by 1.145 seconds ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales.Honda’s Marc Marquez
Marquez’s quick time arrived from the first of two free practices. He crashed out of the second free practice, which was led by Vinales, but he remained far ahead from his FP1 times.Marquez, who has four wins at Aragon including the last three rounds held there, was only two-tenths of a second off the lap time that he set in 2015 during qualifying.“Today we started very well and actually we ended quite well too,” Marc Marquez says. “In the morning we did our time attack, I felt good and with the potential weather tomorrow I thought it was best. It was a quite good lap!“In the afternoon we worked a lot with used tires and unfortunately had a small crash but we learned a lot from it. Aside from this little fall everything went well and I think there’s still some more time to find.”Yamaha’s Maverick VinalesWhen the Friday practice sessions are combined, Marquez led three Yamaha YZR-M1 pilots – Vinales, Monster Energy Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi (-1.202) and Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo (-1.248).Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro was fifth fastest, 1.523 seconds behind, and was followed by the quickest Ducati rider, Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller (-1.573).Rounding out the top 10 during Friday’s Aragon MotoGP free practice were LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir, and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro.The riders return to the Motorland Aragon circuit Saturday for two more free practices and qualifying.Ducati’s Andrea DoviziosoSunday’s 23-lap Aragon MotoGP will also be a historic one for Marquez as he starts his 200th GP race. After 13 of 19 rounds, he enters Motorland Aragon with a 93-point lead over Dovizioso.And Marquez is the clear favorite; since Marquez joined the premier class in 2013, he has claimed four wins in Aragon (2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018) and four poles. He will also have his home crowd cheering him on as he looks to claim a sixth premier-class MotoGP title.Photos by Luciano Bianchetto
2019 Aragon MotoGP Friday Practice Results (Combined)
Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s. This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what makes the bike really stand out.
For the entertaining story behind Arch Motorcycle from Gard Hollinger himself, you must listen to his podcast episode on Motos & Friends HERE
——————–
The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—visit your local dealer or suzukicycles.com to learn more.
——————–
In our second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with multiple Emmy award-winning writer, Producer, Director, and actor, Thom Beers. the former Chairman & CEO of Fremantle Media North America, responsible for American Idol and America’s Got Talent.
Thom’s fertile imagination led to most of the really big reality TV shows such as ‘Deadliest Catch’ (now in its 17th season!), and many others. Of course for us in the motorcycle world, you’ll be interested to hear the genesis and story of how he started the first real fabrication reality show ‘Monster Garage’, that showcased Jesse James, and then how that led to ‘Biker Build Off’ and the ‘Zombie Choppers’ movie.
You’d imagine that most of Thom’s time is spent sitting behind a desk and on his phone. Not so. His intense stories of capturing much of the content for these shows make for some hair-raising listening.
