Marquez: "We still have work to do"

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) had a more under-the-radar Friday in Qatar - but the reigning Champion remains P3 on the combined times, and goes straight to Q2.

And, after a crash infested Qatar Test, the rider from Cervera has seen none of those woes reappear - with key rival Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) the man taking a tumble in FP2. There's still work to do for Marquez on Saturday, but the podium remains the target.

MM93, P3: “Today the track was a bit different from yesterday and it was more demanding to find the pace and a fast lap. Yesterday I had felt very good, but today we made many changes to the bike, looking for more grip and to improve on corner exit, but we didn’t get the results we were hoping for. So now we’ll re-check everything, and tomorrow we’ll take a little step back with the settings. A positive point from today is that we again found the confidence in the front that was missing yesterday. Also, the feeling on used tyres this afternoon wasn’t bad. Anyway, we still have work to do to improve our rhythm to be able to fight for the podium on Sunday.”