Friday MotoGP pacesetter Marc Marquez says the slippery nature of the partially resurfaced Termas de Rio Hondo is his “place”, but expects the field to close up as grip improves over the weekend.
Marquez – who has qualified on pole every year at Termas – made a low-key start to proceedings in FP1 in sixth spot, but proved unstoppable in the tricky conditions of the afternoon.
The Honda rider eased four tenths away from the rest of the field with a 1:39.395s in the closing stages of FP2, and feels the team worked through “a good plan” on Friday.
“Today was a good day for us, we started in a good way,” Marquez said following the opening day of running.
“We did, I think, a good plan for the practice. We even tried a few set-ups, we tried a few tyres, more or less I like it but the tyres are still some doubt because both tyres are working quite well.
“Anyway, we are working in a good way. Today it's a slippery track and when it's slippery it's my place.
“I mean, when it's slippery I feel so comfortable and maybe the others are struggling more [than me].
“But tomorrow the grip will improve, even more on Sunday, so everything will be closer and closer.”
Teammate Dani Pedrosa – who topped FP1 and was third overall – feels the resurfaced areas of the track proved to be less bumpy than n previous years, but found it hard to gauge what the grip was like due to the dirt.
“The track is always quite slippery here on the first day, which makes the first practice a bit tougher,” he stated.
“The parts that had been resurfaced seem better in terms of the bumps, but the asphalt was too dirty to really understand what the grip was like.
“This morning we worked on the tyres, trying to make the best of the dry conditions as the weather forecasts for the weekend aren't good.”
