Marc Marquez set the pace on a strange Friday at Phillip Island where conditions interrupted MotoGP's usual schedule.
MotoGP's Practice time was cut short on Friday at the Australian Grand Prix. The premier class missed Free Practice One due to weather conditions, meaning they only had an afternoon Practice on Friday.
It was Marc Marquez who ended the hour-long session at the top of the pile. As the Spaniard was 'taking risks' from the word go to secure a place in Q2 on Saturday.
"Straight away I was taking risks on those first laps," Marquez revealed. "Especially because it was super cloudy out there so I made sure I was always in the top positions. Because Practice gives us the chance to go straight into Q2. We started in a good way, I felt good there were still a few things to improve. The same as every Friday we now need to work deep because I know the others will arrive."
Marquez went on to discuss how missing Free Practice One completely changed how he and his team approach a Friday.
Marquez said: "Our approach was completely different. Normally you would work for the race distance, but today we were pushing on every lap to stay in the top positions, then we had the time attack. So, there is not a lot of useful information but tomorrow we have another chance to understand."
Despite securing first place on Friday Marquez insists he still has a lot of work to do. Nobody in MotoGP had a race distance run in dry conditions so it is currently unknown what tyre to use in the races.
"At the moment 15 laps is working well," Marquez replied when he was asked about tyre life at Phillip Island. "But the race is 30 or 29 or more or less so let's see tomorrow if we can spend more time in dry conditions."
Historically Marquez has always been competitive at Phillip Island as he has three MotoGP wins at the venue. However, Marquez was hesitant to put himself in victory contention as he has learnt how important Saturday qualifying is.
"It is one of the tracks I like, it is one of the tracks that historically I feel better at than the others. Today we started in a good way but tomorrow we have Qualifying which will show what we can do in the Sprint and on Sunday."
