Seventh and eighth for Marini and Zarco on opening day in Misano
Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
For Luca Marini, Friday at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was exactly the boost his home weekend needed. Having spent the buildup talking about a "better qualifying direction" found at Aragón and his ambition to get straight into Q2, the #10 delivered on that promise. He rounded out Free Practice 1 in seventh, ahead of the likes of Jorge Martín and Fabio Quartararo, and carried that form into the afternoon to secure automatic passage into Saturday's Q2. A best time of 1’30.640 sees him advance to the top 12 shootout directly for the first time since the US Grand Prix earlier in the season. Now Marini must grab this opportunity with both hands and deliver.
Frenchman Johann Zarco also enjoyed a positive Friday on Italian soil. From his first outing in the morning, Johann was among the top riders on the timesheets, and in the afternoon, when it mattered most, Johann secured a spot in Q2 by crossing the line in 8th place.
Joan Mir's Friday told a more complicated story. Struggling to find his speed in the first session, the #36 was able to make a step in the afternoon but the incredibly close times of MotoGP betrayed him – ending the day 14th despite being last than three tenths slower than his Honda HRC Castrol teammate. It leaves Mir with work to do to salvage his San Marino weekend, but Q1 presents a world of possibilities and surprises on Saturday morning.
Brazilian Diogo Moreira faced a challenging Friday as he rode a MotoGP machine at the circuit for the first time. He experienced some difficulties from the morning session onwards, acknowledging that Sector 3 is the main critical part of the track for him, making things particularly challenging. Although he was unable to put together the perfect lap to secure a Q2 spot, Moreira noticed some positives throughout the day as they target realising the potential in tomorrow’s qualifying and Sprint.
The 13-lap Sprint Race for the Gran Premio San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini gets underway on Saturday at 15:00 local time.
“A very good day, a really positive Friday. I like this track a lot and the bike has been working very well from the first lap because this circuit has so much grip. We are much closer here to the top guys than at other tracks and it really helps to enjoy this weekend. Of course we need to remain focused because Misano is quite a tight track so the Qualifying tomorrow will be a key point but already being in Q2 is a great help to us.”
“A very good day, a really positive Friday. I like this track a lot and the bike has been working very well from the first lap because this circuit has so much grip. We are much closer here to the top guys than at other tracks and it really helps to enjoy this weekend. Of course we need to remain focused because Misano is quite a tight track so the Qualifying tomorrow will be a key point but already being in Q2 is a great help to us.”
“I’m pretty happy. Misano is a tough track, so I’m really pleased to have had the speed from the very first session this morning. We have a good pace, which is a positive, and it allows me to give clear feedback to the crew so we can work in the right direction. I think there’s still room to improve the lap time, so tomorrow we need to keep pushing. If I can find a little more, I think we can fight for the first rows of the grid. Let’s see!”
“I’m pretty happy. Misano is a tough track, so I’m really pleased to have had the speed from the very first session this morning. We have a good pace, which is a positive, and it allows me to give clear feedback to the crew so we can work in the right direction. I think there’s still room to improve the lap time, so tomorrow we need to keep pushing. If I can find a little more, I think we can fight for the first rows of the grid. Let’s see!”
“Today the team have done a great job to understand what I need and start adapting the bike to it after a tough start. This morning was quite hard for us as we were struggling with a lot of areas on the bike, over the lunch break the team changed many things and in the afternoon the bike was handling much better for me. There are clearly still things to improve which we will work on tonight and then give our 100% tomorrow with what we are able to come up with.”
“Today the team have done a great job to understand what I need and start adapting the bike to it after a tough start. This morning was quite hard for us as we were struggling with a lot of areas on the bike, over the lunch break the team changed many things and in the afternoon the bike was handling much better for me. There are clearly still things to improve which we will work on tonight and then give our 100% tomorrow with what we are able to come up with.”
“It’s been a difficult Friday because we didn’t have the best start to the day, although we improved in the afternoon. I’m struggling in Sector 3, that’s where I lose everything. Hopefully tomorrow we can find something that helps us put together a few good laps and try to make it into Q2. We’ll see, we’re ready to try and do a good job.”
“It’s been a difficult Friday because we didn’t have the best start to the day, although we improved in the afternoon. I’m struggling in Sector 3, that’s where I lose everything. Hopefully tomorrow we can find something that helps us put together a few good laps and try to make it into Q2. We’ll see, we’re ready to try and do a good job.”
