Tenths the difference for Honda HRC Castrol as Aragon GP begins
MotorLand AragónLuca Marini and Joan Mir were once again reunited with their Honda RC213V machines, the Honda HRC Castrol pairing battling until the very end of the day for Q2 spots but missed out by mere tenths of a second.
Some 250 kilometres west of Barcelona, the MotoGP World Championship began their preparations for Round 13 at Motorland Aragon. Cooler than expected conditions made for a busy morning, the Honda HRC Castrol duo completing 30 laps between them as the prepared for the crucial afternoon Practice session.
Improving from a 1’49.114 in the morning to a respectable 1’46.376 in the afternoon saw Luca Marini end the day in 12th. Less than a tenth of a second away from a returning Johann Zarco in tenth, the tightest of margins once again had a big impact as Marini will be forced to duke it out in Q1. His Friday speed does suggest he will be in good standing to make it out and into Q2 however.
Joan Mir was one of the first movers in the afternoon, rocketing up to inside the top ten and ultimately ended the day in 15th position on the combined times. Four tenths off the top ten, the #36 had wanted to enter the weekend and show his potential immediately but there are still a few settings to refine on his Honda. He and the Honda HRC engineers are confident that improvements can be made before Q1 on Saturday to allow the 2020 MotoGP World Champion to show his true speed.
Saturday will begin in earnest with the always hotly contested Q1 session at 10:50 Local Time, both Marini and Mir ready to fight their way through and into the top twelve. Once the grid is decided, all eyes will be on the 11-lap Sprint at 15:00 Local Time.
“We tried something on the setting to see what it did at this circuit, it improved the bike in one area, but we lost a little bit in another part. There are of course still some things to work on to improve, so I hope that with that we can make the step into Q2. It’s about working with the package that we have, aiming to be the best Honda on track and seeing what happens when each session starts, I am really focused on myself – to improve my riding, my setting and not looking around too much. Times are really tight so again, if we can find something then I think we can be in the mix.”
“We tried something on the setting to see what it did at this circuit, it improved the bike in one area, but we lost a little bit in another part. There are of course still some things to work on to improve, so I hope that with that we can make the step into Q2. It’s about working with the package that we have, aiming to be the best Honda on track and seeing what happens when each session starts, I am really focused on myself – to improve my riding, my setting and not looking around too much. Times are really tight so again, if we can find something then I think we can be in the mix.”
“A more complicated Friday than what we were expecting to be honest, we were expecting a lot more. We used more or less the same setup as in Silverstone and unfortunately it is not the direction we need to head here. Our braking, which is usually my strongest point, was not where I need it to be so there’s work to do in this area overnight. Tomorrow is a new day and I am confident that we can find something together overnight. There is plenty of potential still left to find.”
“A more complicated Friday than what we were expecting to be honest, we were expecting a lot more. We used more or less the same setup as in Silverstone and unfortunately it is not the direction we need to head here. Our braking, which is usually my strongest point, was not where I need it to be so there’s work to do in this area overnight. Tomorrow is a new day and I am confident that we can find something together overnight. There is plenty of potential still left to find.”
