Zarco and Mir head straight to Q2 in Barcelona
Circuit de Barcelona-CatalunyaJohann Zarco ends first day of CatalanGP fifth, with Joan Mir eighth despite crash
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco enjoyed a positive Friday on Catalan soil, managing to show strong performance throughout the day. Despite the uncertain weather conditions in the afternoon, the Frenchman was able to set a strong lap time around the circuit that is one of his favourites on the calendar. His time was good enough for fifth place and will see him head straight to Q2 tomorrow.
Home hero Joan Mir will also be joining Zarco in Q2, despite a crash on his final run of the day. The fastest of the Spaniard's laps had placed him in fourth, with those at the top of the timing screens only separated by the smallest of margins. Unfortunately, not being able to improve upon this meant that he dropped to eighth, but he will be fighting for the top Qualifying places tomorrow.
Although he will have to go through Q1 tomorrow, Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira also enjoyed a strong day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, finishing the day just 0.4 seconds shy of the fastest time. The Brazilian was able to show good pace throughout the day and ended the afternoon session in 14th place.
The cooler conditions proved to be a more complicated day for Luca Marini who struggled to find the final tenths in the afternoon. Just half a second behind his teammate, Marini ended the day down in 18th spot in the tightest Friday of the season. It will be another hard Q1 battle for the Italian who remains adamant on finding improvements with his team.
Saturday begins with Free Practice 2 at 10:10 Local Time before Q1 and Q2 follow in quick succession at 10:50 Local Time and 11:15 Local Time respectively.
This is a circuit I really like, and I’m pretty happy with the lap time, it felt really good. I enjoy riding here because my riding style suits this layout. We know the grip level is low, and the bike’s behaviour in these conditions is quite demanding, so we need to manage it better. We have to find a smoother flow through the fast corners to improve the lap times. We’re working hard on that, and the important thing today is that we secured a place in Q2. Now we’ll try to do the best job possible to secure a strong position on the grid for the Sprint.
This is a circuit I really like, and I’m pretty happy with the lap time, it felt really good. I enjoy riding here because my riding style suits this layout. We know the grip level is low, and the bike’s behaviour in these conditions is quite demanding, so we need to manage it better. We have to find a smoother flow through the fast corners to improve the lap times. We’re working hard on that, and the important thing today is that we secured a place in Q2. Now we’ll try to do the best job possible to secure a strong position on the grid for the Sprint.
We knew it would be a tough day with the forecast; Catalunya is a circuit where we usually struggle to find the grip and the conditions make it harder for everyone. With the new tyre I could dig deep and make a good lap, but our overall pace still needs some work. On my second time attack, with the cold tyre in the out lap I crashed. There wasn’t a lot of time left so we had to try it. The positive is that despite this we go to Q2, we need to bring this confidence into tomorrow and earn the best grid position possible.
We knew it would be a tough day with the forecast; Catalunya is a circuit where we usually struggle to find the grip and the conditions make it harder for everyone. With the new tyre I could dig deep and make a good lap, but our overall pace still needs some work. On my second time attack, with the cold tyre in the out lap I crashed. There wasn’t a lot of time left so we had to try it. The positive is that despite this we go to Q2, we need to bring this confidence into tomorrow and earn the best grid position possible.
We tried really hard to secure a place in Q2, but in the end we just missed out. At one point I was inside the top 10, but it was still early in the session. With the last tyre, I was there again, but I made a mistake in the final corner and couldn’t finish the job. We are getting closer, and I think we can have another chance tomorrow. We are working really well session after session, and that’s the most important thing.
We tried really hard to secure a place in Q2, but in the end we just missed out. At one point I was inside the top 10, but it was still early in the session. With the last tyre, I was there again, but I made a mistake in the final corner and couldn’t finish the job. We are getting closer, and I think we can have another chance tomorrow. We are working really well session after session, and that’s the most important thing.
Difficult conditions for everyone today, and with how close it was today you really had to line everything up. You had to work a lot to get the tyres in the correct window, if you’re not strong in entry you lose through the rest of the corner. Hopefully tomorrow the weather improves and we can gain something on entry because we also need to work on the rear grip, as with every year here. We keep trying.
Difficult conditions for everyone today, and with how close it was today you really had to line everything up. You had to work a lot to get the tyres in the correct window, if you’re not strong in entry you lose through the rest of the corner. Hopefully tomorrow the weather improves and we can gain something on entry because we also need to work on the rear grip, as with every year here. We keep trying.
