Hard day’s work for Repsol Honda Team as Assen weekend commences
TT Circuit AssenMarc Marquez diligently went about his work with the aim of making strides forward today in Assen, for Iker Lecuona on the other side of the garage, it was a day of progress as he found half a second between sessions.
A morning of avoiding risks started the day for Marc Marquez in Assen. Ending down in 21st and 1.865 seconds behind the fastest rider, it was clear to see the first practice did not deliver its full potential. The difficulties would continue into the afternoon as Marquez attempted to improve his time. Briefly gaining a handful of places towards the end of the session, but a crash at Turn 3 would end his afternoon. Concluding the day in 19th with a best time of 1’33.485, the #93 felt his greatest limit was the lingering injuries from the German GP – particularly the damage to his rib.
For Iker Lecuona, his return to the Repsol Honda Team saw him continue the steady progress he showed in Jerez. Ending the morning session with a best time of 1’34.363, the Honda WorldSBK rider would find half a second to end Friday with a 1’33.720 – only 0.219s behind Stefan Bradl on the LCR Honda. Content with the opening day of action, Lecuona’s objective is to continue the trend and improve his overall feeling and speed with the Honda RC213V.
Both Repsol Honda Team riders will be seeking improvements on Saturday in the morning practice session and Q1. The highlight of Saturday will no doubt be the Sprint Race, scheduled to start at 15:00 Local Time.
Today I had a limitation on the physical side with the rib that I cracked in Germany, especially in the last sector and the change of direction. This did not help us today with our performance. I spent most of today riding in an easy way and then pushed right at the end to try and improve our position and see if Q2 was possible, but I crashed. Tomorrow I will try to push in Q1 and see if we can make something happen.
I am very happy with how today went, I was able to finish within one second of the first Honda and not too far from the fastest rider overall. We’ve been able to carry on what we did in Jerez and made another step already here on the first day. Of course, I would like to be even faster, but it’s important to stay calm and work well with the team – they know the bike much better than me and I am listening to them a lot. Now it’s time to check the data and make a plan for tomorrow together.
