It was a difficult start to the Dutch GP for the premier class, their first session of the day directly after a small rain shower. After only a few scouting laps, riders quickly realised that slicks were the way to go. Conditions may not have been ideal but riders made the best of the situation, every lap a potential help if the race is held under similar circumstances. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) avoided any major risks and ended in 11th, using only one set of tyres.
"The track conditions change every time you go out, so we’ll work to try to continue improving"Fortunately for Marquez the rain held off in the afternoon session and he was able to improve his time to a 1’33.724. This put him third overall and only 0.133s from the top spot held by Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team). The weather remains uncertain for the rest of the weekend, remaining flexible and able to react will be crucial. Ending inside the top ten on Friday may also be very important for Qualifying as rain could easily fall during FP3 and halt riders from improving their times.
Marc Marquez: “In the first free-practice session, we found things a little demanding and I wasn't able to ride as comfortably as usual, but we remained very focused and worked hard to look for a solution for the afternoon. So, the important thing from today is that the changes we made worked well in the second session, and I was able to set a good pace. We were amongst the top riders throughout the session, but we were also testing a lot of things that I think will help us tomorrow. Here, the track conditions change every time you go out, so we’ll work to try to continue improving, as the times are always very close.”