Márquez the fastest in the rain and Pedrosa finishes fifth

The first Free Practice session for the Valencia GP, interrupted for a few minutes by the excessive amount of water on the track, concluded with Marc Márquez heading the timesheets and Dani Pedrosa fifth.

The 2018 MotoGP World Champion finished second in FP2.

Dani Pedrosa set the fifth fastest time in FP1 and completed just five laps in FP2, preferring not to take unnecessary risks.

MotoGP

3 days ago

2018 Valencian GP FP1 and FP2 – Marc Márquez & Dani Pedrosa’s statements

#MM93

Difficult day. Honestly, it was a difficult day because not only were there wet conditions with a lot of water, but also because it was very cold. When there’s so much water on track, it’s a kind of lottery, and the only thing you can do is try not to crash. This situation made things more complicated, but luckily the track here in Valencia has very good drainage and very good grip all things considered, and this allowed us to actually ride today..

Felt good on the bike.  That said, I felt very good on the bike and was able to feel the limit and be fast, which is very important. It looks like the weather will be a bit better tomorrow, only to worsen again on Sunday, so we need to be ready for whatever condition we may find if we wish to fight for the podium.

#DP26

Track changes. It seems it’s going to rain quite a lot this weekend! The track changes when the water increases, and in some points it’s a bit difficult to ride. That was the case this afternoon, so I just did very few laps.

Tyre choice. On the other hand, when there’s a bit less water, like at a certain point during FP1, you can be much faster. So we must wait and see what conditions we’ll have over the weekend. This will also affect the tyre choice and the rhythm of the race.