FIM MotoGP World Championship

Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina

March 29, 2019

Free Practice Two Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.181

2. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:39.190

3. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:39.345

4. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:39.346

5. Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:39.357

6. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:39.441

7. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:39.451

8. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.497

9. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:39.503

10. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:39.629

11. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:39.654

12. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:39.697

13. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.740

14. Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.740

15. Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:39.946

16. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:39.951

17. Johann Zarco, France (KTM), 1:39.956

18. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:39.995

19. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:40.006

20. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:40.110

21. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Honda), 1:40.159

22. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (KTM), 1:40.752

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:

Productive first day on Argentinean ground for Oliveira and Syahrin

The Termas de Rio Hondo circuit welcomed the MotoGP class with decent weather for the second round of the 2019 World Championship today, although the conditions on track were more ideal during FP2 this afternoon, which was obvious in the incredibly tight standings of the entire field.

Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Miguel Oliveira impressed from the word go with fast lap times in South America. The premier class rookie lowered his personal best by 1.507 seconds from FP1 to the second session and eventually missed out on the provisional Q2 positions by just 0.377 seconds. On the other side of the Red Bull KTM Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin improved by strong 1.927 seconds from the first to the second Free Practice to finally find himself just 1.571 seconds behind the top.

Miguel Oliveira

Position: 19th

Time: 1:40.006

Laps: 38

“Today was a good day. I think we improved a lot from FP1 to FP2, we did a quite good job and had a good pace in the second practice today and I felt comfortable with the bike. Still I’m looking for another step as with the new tyre we don’t gain so much traction like the others, so this is something we need to look into to be able to be more competitive. But in any case, I’m happy about the general work, the pace, my riding was good today, so I aim to just keep improving like this.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 22nd

Time: 1:40.752

Laps: 38

“I’m quite surprised. In the morning I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike, it was similar to Qatar. Later we did just very small changes, but we found really decent grip on the rear compared to this morning. I couldn’t use the potential of the soft tyres, because I couldn’t truly find out where the limit is. But finally, I feel really good with the bike and we can fight closer to the others as I nearly improved by two seconds this afternoon. We believe that we can improve more tomorrow. Now I start to understand how we have to work, we need another step to get closer.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

Gran Premio de la República Argentina – Termas de Río Hondo

#ArgentinaGP FP. Splendid start for Jack: P2 in both FP1 and FP2. Pecco improves lap by lap and finishes very close to the Top 10

The first day of free practice of the Grand Prix de la Repubblica Argentina finishes with extremely positive indications for Pramac Racing. Jack is very fast and concludes both sessions in second place while Pecco takes a big step forward in FP2.

Here are the high lights of the free practice on the circuit of Termas de Rio Hondo.

FP1 (Practice conditions: dry – Air 22° – Ground 32°)

P 2 Jack Miller (1’40.180, + 0.353 from P1)

Jack proves to be at ease on the Argentinean circuit and is constantly in the top positions. In the last lap of the session, he set the second fastest time behind Marquez.

P21 Pecco Bagnaia (1’41.875, + 1′.00.048 from Top 10)

Pecco laps for the first session in MotoGP at Termas de Rio Hondo. The Italian rider takes advantage of FP1 to become familiar with the circuit.

FP2 (Practice conditions: dry – Air 25° – Ground 32°)

P2 Jack Miller (1’39.190, +0.009 from P1)

Jack pushes hard also in the second free practice session. A slide without consequences in the first run (red helmet after the first 3 sectors) doesn’t deconcentrate him and in the last time attack he notches up a great time, finishing only 9 thousandths of a second behind Dovizioso.

P14 Pecco Bagnaia (1’39.799, + 0.170 from Top 10, + 0.618 from P1)

Pecco makes important steps forward by improving lap after lap his race pace. The Italian rider is also incisive in time attack lowering by more than two seconds his best time recorded in FP1 and finishing less than 2 tenths of a second off the Top 10.

P14 – Pecco Bagnaia

“I’m happy because in FP2 we’ve improved a lot. It’s not easy to find the feeling right away on a track where we didn’t test. We are very close to the Top 10 and there is great confidence. I also thank the Clinica Mobile: I had a pain in my right arm and after the FP1 they did a great job”.

P2 – Jack Miller

“I am very satisfied with this first day. The feeling with the bike is very positive and in both sessions we were able to ride with great incisiveness both with the used tires and with the new tires. It’s a shame about that small slide that didn’t compromise our work anyway”.

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini:

FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE IN ARGENTINA

IN EXTREMELY TIGHT STANDINGS, TWELVE RIDERS WITHIN HALF A SECOND, THE APRILIAS AIM FOR Q2

ANDREA IMPROVES GREATLY AND AFTER A NICE FIFTH TIME IN FP1 FINISHES 11TH

ALEIX, FOCUSING ON RACE PACE, IS ALSO JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN

The times from the first day of practice in anticipation of the Argentina GP show Andrea Iannone on a decidedly upward trend. As his confidence astride the RS-GP increases, Andrea shines in his first session, finishing with the fifth best time (1’40.366). In the afternoon session, Iannone was a bit faster (1’39.654), earning the eleventh-place spot in extremely tight standings where the top twelve are all within 516 thousandths of one another.

Aleix also finished just outside the top ten, hot on the pipes of his Aprilia Racing Team Gresini teammate, with a time of 1’39.697. For him, the first day returned good indications on pace over the long run, so he will continue this approach tomorrow as well. Given the characteristics of the impending race, performance in the second half could be one of the decisive factors for number 41.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“Not a bad day at all. With the medium tyre, we lapped in the mid 40s and with the soft in the mid-high 39s. It would only have taken 3 or 4 tenths to end the day even in the top five, but what we need to do is stay focused on the race. We all saw that rear tyre wear is very high here and we’ll need to work to prevent wheel spin as much as possible, because I’m sure that the real race will begin after at least ten laps. If we are well sorted in the second half of the race, we’ll be able to battle for important positions.”

ANDREA IANNONE

“I’m pleased because we are continuing on the path we had set out for ourselves. We started well today and ended the day a half a second from the winner of the last race. This is an improvement that I don’t think anyone expected from Aprilia in such a short amount of time. The team is working well. We are a good group with very clear ideas. We saw once again today just how competitive MotoGP is, with 20 riders all within one second of one another. A nice battle for all the fans. Our goal now is to go through to Q2. That would be further demonstration of our consistent growth.”

More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team:

Top 10 for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT on opening day of the Argentina GP

Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli begin weekend well with fifth and ninth place, respectively, on Friday.

FABIO QUARTARARO +0.176

FRANCO MORBIDELLI +0.322

The MotoGP World Championship returns to action this weekend with the Argentina GP, the second round of the 2019 calendar. On the opening day at Termas de Rio Hondo, the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team riders continued to enjoy the same positive feeling as they had in Qatar. Fabio Quartararo – on his first time at the track with a MotoGP bike – placed inside the Top 5, while teammate Franco Morbidelli was ninth fastest. Both hold provisional Q2 spots ahead of qualifying tomorrow.

Morbidelli was one of the standout riders of the morning, and was up into second place during the early stages of FP1. He would conclude the runout in fourth, with a best time of 1:40.319. Quartararo was also in the Top 10, as the Frenchman placed eighth with a 1:40.676 lap.

In FP2, Quartararo bettered his previous time by more than a second. He tried to move his way further up the order in the final stretch of the session, eventually clocking a 1:39.357 on the 19th of his 21 laps. Morbidelli joined his teammate in managing to get into a provisional Q2 position after a tight FP2 session. The Italian finished the day with the ninth fastest time on the combined timesheets, with a 1:39.503. A total of twenty one riders set times within a second of each other.

The action at the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit continues on Saturday with FP3 and Qualifying: Q1 will get underway at 3:05pm local time, followed by Q2 at 3:30pm.

At 8.30pm tomorrow, Earth Hour, a global awareness campaign about climate change that all the PETRONAS Sepang Racing Team are supporting this weekend, takes place.

#21 Franco Morbidelli

“It’s my first day with the Yamaha YZR-M1 on this track and I felt very good. I felt comfortable riding and I’m having fun. The timesheets are very tight and there are many riders within a second of one another, so getting into the Top 10 is a very positive thing. We still have to continue working on different aspects, because we have room for improvement, but we are in a good spot ahead of the second day. We need to finish adjusting some things with the rear and find a little more speed. The conditions here change day by day and the weather is usually unstable, so having achieved the time that we did today could be very valuable. We have to be prepared to react to any situation, in both the remaining Free Practice sessions and in Qualifying.”

#20 Fabio Quartararo

“The first impressions of riding with a MotoGP bike here in Argentina have been good. I was expecting the track to be dirtier and harder for me to adapt to. I thought it would be more difficult, as we hadn’t tested here before -in contrast to Qatar. I felt very good and very comfortable, right from the start. On the last few laps I think everyone tried for a quick time, and we managed to be competitive and stay amongst the frontrunners. The conditions were almost perfect, so I’m happy with the work we’ve done today. Now it’s time to focus on tomorrow and work on our race pace. Qualifying is sure to be tough and we will have to ride on the limit if we are going to achieve the best grid position possible.”

More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP FIND FORM ON FRIDAY IN ARGENTINA

Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina), 29th March 2019

GRAND PRIX OF ARGENTINA

FREE PRACTICE

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team took to the Termas de Río Hondo track today, to prepare for Sunday’s Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina. After a difficult FP1 session, Maverick Viñales’ and Valentino Rossi’s hard work paid off in FP2, when they secured third and sixth position respectively in the combined free practice results.

3rd MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’39.345 (FP2) / 21 + 19 LAPS

6th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’39.441 (FP2) / 20 + 21 LAPS

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team had a testing start to this weekend’s Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina but changed it all around in the afternoon. Wheelspin prevented riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi from being able to push to the fullest in FP1, but they came back strong in FP2, securing third and sixth position respectively in the combined free practice timesheets.

This morning Viñales calmly prepared for Sunday’s race at the Termas de Río Hondo track, steadily upping his pace. He tried various tyre specs and bike settings, to reduce wheelspin in order to be able to put in a good challenge during the important FP2 session. He set a best morning time of 1’41.657s for 18th place, 1.830s from first.

The young gun again displayed his patience in FP2. He used most of the session to make some further set-up changes, before pouncing at the right moment. With 15 minutes of the available time left, the game was on. He quickened his pace to the 1’39s, setting a provisional third fastest lap before the general mini time attacks took place. He responded in the final minutes, concluding the session with a 1’39.345s lap for third place in the FP2 and combined free practice timesheets, 0.164s from first.

Rossi started the Argentina Grand Prix weekend on a more positive note. He worked diligently on his bike’s setting in FP1 in preparation for the race on Sunday. Focusing on bike improvement rather than lap times, he ended the morning practice with a 1’40.827s best lap for tenth place, 1.000s from the top of the timesheets.

The Doctor used the second free practice to further fine-tune the balance of his bike, to match it to Termas de Río Hondo’s layout, setting everything up for a final push at the end of the session. The Italian rider executed the plan to perfection. As various rivals were also trying to put in a hot lap, the Italian avoided traffic and posted a 1’39.441s lap, earning sixth position in both the FP2 and combined free practice results.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

“The start was a bit tricky today, because this morning the riders suffered from wheelspin, especially Maverick. We had to invest quite a chunk of track time in FP1 and FP2 to tackle this problem but managed to make both riders feel comfortable by the end of FP2, so they can push for a place in Q2. The lap times are close, and the field was dropping the times fast. This means we need to keep pushing at the maximum to achieve our goal of featuring at the top of the timesheets. We still have areas where we can work on to improve and, consequently, we expect to improve our pace. The rear tyre choice still has to be finalised, we have to choose the one we prefer for the race and focus on prolonging tyre life.”

MAVERICK VIÑALES

“Today’s impressions weren’t bad. This track is completely different from Qatar, so the surface is very different and the tyres are working in a different way, so we had to record all the information from today and work really hard, because the bike isn’t at its best yet. The main thing is the rear grip. In Qatar we had a lot of grip, but here we’re struggling. We need to reconfirm everything, trying to work things out, especially the rear grip. Let’s see, we did a great job today, we improved so much compared to this morning, but our rhythm needs to be in the mid-1’39s if we want to be able to win the race. For sure, I will try my best for pole tomorrow. We’re going to work really hard and push for it.”

VALENTINO ROSSI

“It was a pretty good day because I’ve always been pretty fast. This morning we worked well with the tyres, even with used tyres. In the afternoon we tried other things and at the end I did the time attack. I’m sixth at 0.2s from the first rider, and it isn‘t a bad first day. Obviously, there are still so many things to do before the race. We are working well with the team, and I’m happy because I can ride the bike well. There are so many really fast riders, it will be important to stay very focused to be in the top-10.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Idemitsu:

NAKAGAMI INSIDE TOP 10 ON DAY ONE IN ARGENTINA

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami was once again inside the top 10 on the opening day of practice at the Argentina Grand Prix. Having started the season with a ninth-placed finish in Qatar, the Japanese talent was on the pace at Termas de Rio Hondo after two highly competitive free practice sessions on Friday.

Taka claimed 11th position in the morning’s FP1 session, but then improved by over a second in FP2 as he finished the day tenth on the timesheets. The 27-year-old admitted there was still work to be done on the rear grip of his bike, but was satisfied with the team’s progress.

Takaaki Nakagami – 10th

(1’39.629 – lap 18 of 19)

“For us, it was a good start to get into the top 10, we’re on the right track. But we still have to find the best set up for the bike and especially the rear grip as we’re struggling with that a bit. So tomorrow we need to focus on finding a step forward for the set up”.

“The problem for us is that, although we’re in the top 10, there is not much of a gap. From P1 to the last rider there is not much more than a second, so it’s difficult to get a lap time. I think tomorrow it will be hard to get into the top 10, but we’ll do our best and will keep working hard.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Dovi tops the Termas shuffle as 21 riders finish Friday within a second

An incredibly tight field sees Ducati, Yamaha and Honda end the day within 0.165

Friday, 29 March 2019

Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) leads an incredibly tight MotoGP™ field at the end of play on Friday at the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, topping a manic shuffle to the timesheets at the end of FP2 as riders pushed to make it into that all-important provisional Q2 graduation zone. And Dovizioso may have ended the day on top once the action was over, but the gap back to P2 was tiny as the Italian was just 0.009 ahead of Independent Team rider Jack Miller (Pramac Racing). It only seemed the get closer from there.

The rain mildly threatening overhead ultimately never came to fruition but the seven minute push for a laptime on fresh rubber made for a spectacular end to the day. Third went to Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as he headed an incredibly close trio, with LCR Honda Castrol’s Cal Crutchlow just 0.001 off the Spaniard and superstar rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) once again showing some stunning pace to complete the top five. The gap between 2018 Argentina GP winner Crutchlow and the newcomer? Just 0.011.

Just under a tenth was the next gap and that was back to veteran Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), the 2015 winner at the venue, before another infinitesimal 0.010 split him from Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). FP1 leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who also set the pace throughout much of the second Free Practice session too, was deposed down to P8 by the last minute dash. Sophomores Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) rounded out a top ten split by less than half a second.

So who’s at risk of missing out on Q2 should the rain come down on Saturday morning? Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Andrea Iannone and Aleix Espargaro only just missed out in P11 and P12 respectively, ahead of a somewhat out of position Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati), who crashed in the morning. Rookie duo Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) lurk close by, too.

Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, had a tough first day as he comes back from injuries sustained to his ribs in Qatar and the scaphoid broken in pre-season. He was P21 on Day 1 and the final man covered by less than a second on an extremely competitive Friday – nevertheless quite a feat in terms of pace as he fights back to fitness and adapts to his new machine.

Another stunning tight set of timesheets sets us up for a barnstormer of a Saturday in South America, with FP3, FP4 and qualifying to come. Will anyone be able to break into the top ten in the third Free Practice session? They’ll be praying for the weather to hold out when the premier class head out on track at 10:50 local time (GMT-3), before qualifying starts at 15:05.

Lüthi leads Lowes and Gardner on Day 1

Just 0.124 splits the top three on Friday, with Fernandez for close company too

Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) leads the way after the opening two Free Practice sessions at the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, setting a 1:43.353 in FP2 to lead Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) by just 0.092 – and the tight timesheets didn’t end there. The two veterans had some close company in the form of Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) in third, the Australian 0.124 off the top and proving the star of the show in FP2 after a spectacular save, with Augusto Fernandez (FlexBox HP 40) taking P4 and still within two tenths.

The top five was completed by an impressive performance from rookie Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) as he managed to mix it with the veterans and end Friday just 0.252 off the top, and he was even just ahead of his teammate Luca Marini – but only just. 0.008 split the two Italians, with compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40) only another 0.010 off in seventh.

Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) was P8 and the first non Kalex, although reigning Moto3™ World Champion Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was hot on his heels in ninth for KTM despite recent surgery. Qatar GP pole man Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) closes out the top ten on Friday as just 0.357 covers the ten fastest riders. Iker Lecuona (American Racing KTM), Bo Bendsneyder (NTS RW Racing GP), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) are the next four men on the timesheets and it’s the top 14 after FP3 who go straight through to Q2. So will FP3 shake it up again on Saturday?

With just over a second covering the top 22, it’s going to get tight in the fight to move through. Tune in for FP3 at 09:55 local time (GMT-3) before qualifying gets underway at 13:30.

McPhee strikes first as fastest on Friday

A tale of two polesitters sees the Scot beat Arbolino to the top on Day 1

Day 1 at the Gran Premio Motul de la Republica Argentina was a battle of two former pole position men at Termas de Rio Hondo as John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) – on pole in 2017 – beat Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) – the 2018 polesitter – to the top by just 0.079 after the Scot ended the day an impressive two seconds quicker than his lap from FP1; conditions ever improving. Just behind Arbolino, compatriot Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) rounded out the top three and was just a further tenth in arrears on Friday.

Crowd favourite Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3), racing at home this weekend, shone in the afetrnoon despite his continuing recovery from a collarbone broken at the Qatar Test. He ends the day in fourth overall, ahead of another man to have leapt up the timesheets in FP2: Tatsuki Suzuki. The SIC58 Squadra Corse rider rounds out the top five on Day 1.

It tightened up in sixth as Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Aron Canet was just half a tenth ahead of Sky Racing Team VR46’s Dennis Foggia, who had to settle for seventh, and those top seven were all able to improve their laptimes by at least a second and a half in FP2. That leaves FP1’s quickest man Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) in P8 after the Spaniard could only improve by 0.6 seconds – just a little bigger than margin by which he dominated the first session of the day.

Rounding out the top ten were Vicente Perez (Reale Avintia Arizona 77) and rookie Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team), meaning it’s an even split of Honda and KTM in the top ten – but in favour of the Japanese factory as they locked out the top five. Leopard Racing’s Lorenzo Dalla Porta recovered from an early crash at Turn 7 to finish the session 11th quickest, marginally ahead of his teammate Marcos Ramirez, with Championship leader Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) able to hold on to P13 despite a crash. VNE Snipers rider Romano Fenati – the only man in the field to have previously won at the track – is the last of the riders provisionally going straight to Q2 as he ends Friday in fourteenth place.

The Moto3™ riders’ last chance to secure a spot in Q2 comes on Saturday morning at 13:00 local time (GMT-3) as they fire up for FP3. Qualifying begins at 12:35.

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:

CRUTCHLOW AMONGST THE PACESETTERS IN ARGENTINA

LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow continued his excellent start to the new season as he went fourth fastest on the opening day of free practice at the Argentina Grand Prix. Having claimed a superb podium at the 2019 curtain-raiser in Qatar, the Briton was again amongst the pacesetters at Termas de Rio Hondo as the MotoGP field reconvened for round two of the calendar.

Crutchlow was impressive throughout the day, finishing FP1 in third position. He slipped a place to fourth in the afternoon’s FP2 session, but was encouraged by his pace as he acknowledged that there remains plenty of room for improvement ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.

Cal Crutchlow – 4th

(1’39.346 – lap 17 of 20)

“Today was a good day here in Argentina. The setting of the bike at the moment is not perfect yet but tomorrow we’ll try some more things with the bike in order to obtain the complete package that we raced in Qatar. We’re struggling with corner entry at the moment in some parts of the circuit, but overall I felt good with the lap times. So to be fast and in a good position on day one is positive”.

“I look forward to tomorrow, the Team and HRC are doing a good job and we’re giving them some information with things we’re trying with the bike. I look forward to qualifying and hopefully we can get another good result.”

More, from a press release issued by Mission Winnow Ducati:

Dovizioso tops the time sheets in Friday’s free-practice at the GP of Argentina with the Mission Winnow Ducati team; Petrucci in 13th less than six tenths behind his teammate

The Mission Winnow Ducati team resumed action today at Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) for the second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship. In Friday’s free-practice – characterized by extremely narrow gaps, with 21 riders within less than a second – Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci initially focused on the race setup and then went on the attack in the final stages of the second and last session.

Dovizioso made the most of the soft rear tyre to post a 1:39.181, about 1.5 seconds faster than his previous best in FP1, to claim the top of the time sheets, further confirming the competitiviness already shown in Qatar. Petrucci faced a slightly more difficult task after suffering an innocuous crash that nonetheless limited his time on track in FP1, finishing the opening day in 13th position with a personal best of 1:39.740, about five tenths of a second behind his teammate.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:39.181 (1st)

“I’m very happy, especially because we struggled quite a bit here in recent years and today, on the other hand, we found a good feeling with the bike right away. We are all extremely close so the lap time itself isn’t too important, but I feel much better riding compared with last year here. I still don’t know whether it’ll be enough to fight for the podium, because there are many riders with a strong pace and this track is peculiar, especially in terms of grip, which is particularly low. Anyhow, we have an excellent base, we made some steps forward with the setup and I think we still have room for improvement.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:39.740 (13th)

“All in all, we’re not far from the front, but it’s been a bit more difficult than what we expected today. We started off based on the data from last year, but the track was really dirty in FP1 and the crash made me lose a bit of confidence and time. Still, we made a good step forward in FP2, even though a small mistake in the first flying-lap prevented me from making the most of the extra grip offered by the new tyre. Andrea has shown we can be really competitive here, we have room for improvement and some ideas to try, so I’m confident we’ll bounce back tomorrow.”

The Mission Winnow Ducati team will resume action tomorrow (March 30th) at 10:50 local time (CET -4) for a third free-practice session, while qualifying will start at 15:05.

More, from a press release issued by Team ECSTAR Suzuki:

INTRIGUING OPENING DAY IN ARGENTINA AS RINS AND MIR GET TO GRIPS

Alex Rins: 7th – 1:39.451 (+ 0.270)

Joan Mir: 15th – 1:39.946 (+ 0.765)

• Alex Rins building speed at one of his favourite tracks.

•Joan Mir adapting to feel of GSX-RR at Termas.

•Team hoping for cleaner track for tomorrow’s session.

Just three weeks after the opening round of the season in Qatar, the team were back on track at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina. As is often the case here, the track was very dirty and lacking in grip due to low usage of the circuit and climatic conditions. This should improve as the weekend continues.

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders opted for a steady start in FP1 to properly gauge the feel of the track. Alex Rins chipped away at his lap times and closed the session in 9th. Meanwhile, Joan Mir suffered a small crash at Turn 1 which cost the rookie in terms of improving his time, he was 19th at the flag.

The afternoon’s FP2 session saw the pace upped and improvements from everyone. Alex Rins tried a variety of different tyre options and came close to the top of the time sheets, +0.270 seconds off at the end of FP2. Joan Mir used the medium-soft tyre combination and rocketed up the order to 4th with just minutes to go. However, he slipped to 15th as the session became frenetic.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“I feel it was a positive day, with some room for improvement. Alex did a good job, staying around the Top 10, and he’s able to go fast when he needs to. Joan also has good pace and managed many laps with a strong rhythm, he’s only seven tenths of a second from the leader but that’s 15th, so it’s close out there. Tomorrow we’ll see what we can do.”

Alex Rins

“This first day has been good, I found a nice rhythm and tried several different tyre options such as the hard front and a mixture on the rear, we’re already thinking about what to use for the race. Everyone is very close on the times – 21 riders covered by less than a second was crazy! I hope for good qualifying tomorrow.”

Joan Mir

“It has been a difficult day with a lot of work to do in terms of settings, and I’m still getting used to the MotoGP bike here. Tomorrow we’ll check the different tyre options and prepare more for the race. I’m not that far from the top but I still need to improve.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marquez fast from first Friday run as Lorenzo builds his speed

A day of progress for the Repsol Honda Team in Argentina as Marc Marquez worked towards the race and Jorge Lorenzo made continual gains.

Clear skies welcomed the MotoGP World Championship to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit for round two of the 2019 championship. With the circuit in a good and clean condition, riders were able to get straight to work preparing for the Argentina GP.

Marc Marquez was immediately fast, jumping to the top of the Free Practice 1 timesheets and remaining there until the end of the session with a lap of 1’39.827. Free Practice 2 saw the ground temperature remain at 32°C as clouds gathered but culminated in an explosive time-attack shootout in the last ten minutes. The reigning champion cut his time down to a 1’39.497 and concluded the day eighth fastest.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Jorge Lorenzo began the process of adapting his Honda RC213V to the Argentinian circuit. A 1’41.340 saw the five-time champion conclude the opening session in 14th. Finding over a second during Free Practice 2, Lorenzo set a respectable 1’40.159 to finish a Friday which saw 21 riders within a second of the fastest rider.

Both riders and their crews have already begun preparations for tomorrow’s Free Practice 3 session at 10:50 local time with qualifying kicking off at 15:05 local time later in the day.

Marc Marquez

8TH 1’39.497

“I’m very happy overall. This morning we were fast and then also this afternoon we managed the session in a good way. I did what we needed to try and we are focusing on finding the best pace for race distance. We worked in the same style as 2018, concentrating on our work and our pace and what we needed to do. Of course, we want to improve more as the track keeps changing. It’s still very early to say what will happen on Sunday.”

Jorge Lorenzo

21ST 1’40.159

“We knew that coming to Termas would be difficult as it is a track I have not gone well at in the past because it is a very slippery circuit and still I am trying to catch up for the kilometres on the bike I lost. The position is not great, but we are still within one second of the top and improved a lot between the two practices. We will keep going and I will not lose concentration or focus, it is just a matter of time until we are there.”