2019 Aragon MotoGP Friday Practice News
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.
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.”
When 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.
Sunday’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)
| Pos. | Rider | Manufacturer | Nationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | ESP | 01’46.869 |
| 2 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | ESP | 01’48.014 |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 01’48.071 |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | FRA | 01’48.117 |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | ESP | 01’48.392 |
| 6 | Jack Miller | Ducati | AUS | 01’48.442 |
| 7 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | GBR | 01’48.450 |
| 8 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | ITA | 01’48.477 |
| 9 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | ESP | 01’48.641 |
| 10 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | ESP | 01’48.704 |
| 11 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | ESP | 01’48.737 |
| 12 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | ITA | 01’48.873 |
| 13 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | JPN | 01’48.923 |
| 14 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | ITA | 01’49.104 |
| 15 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | ITA | 01’49.236 |
