The Repsol Honda Team chose not to take part in the recent private test in Austria, and as such points leader Marc Marquez got his first experiences of the Red Bull Ring on the GP bike on Friday. Having learnt the track layout on the road machine earlier in the year, Marquez concentrated on data on Day 1 – and didn’t use the softer tyre to do a time attack.
Marc Marquez: “It has basically been a day to gather data for the race and to find the reference points with a MotoGP bike for this track, which is new. It’s short but it has many braking points, and we haven’t ridden here with carbon brakes before. All in all, I’m generally happy with how it went today; we’re tenth but it’s not our real position, as we didn’t use a new and softer rear spec tyre. We’ll continue working in the same direction tomorrow, as I think it’s the right one, with the aim to be at least in the top five and to fight for the podium on Sunday.”