Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez has said that he was pleasantly surprised with how his Honda fared but has questions over the front Michelin in Mugello.
Marquez arrived in Mugello in good form and despite a small crash during FP2, the Spaniard ended the first day free practice in Mugello third fastest overall.
“Mugello is a track where we usually struggle, but we’re right there in third place,” said the Spaniard. “Our pace isn’t bad either, so we look at these positives and will see tomorrow if we’re able to improve further.”
Despite three wins in three races, Marquez admitted the higher track temperatures today and forecast for the weekend in Mugello could possibly hinder his progress as he says the hardest front tyre is not hard enough for him.
“Honestly, we were expecting to struggle a bit with the front tyre if temperatures were higher compared to the test, as was the case today, because the hardest compound is still a bit too soft for us,” he said. “That said, I think we still have some margin for improvement.”
Ending the day just under half a second behind Andrea Iannone’s fastest time of the day, the 25-year-old is confident with the work they can do tomorrow.
“Besides, generally speaking, we’ve worked well and have improved our lap time quite a bit from the morning; tomorrow we’ll try and continue on this positive path. Finally, I’d like to add that I hope Michele [Pirro] gets well and comes back soon,” said Marquez.