Pedrosa and Márquez place second and sixth, respectively, on day one

It was important to start the weekend well

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Dani Pedrosa placed tenth in the first session of the weekend a the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. He improved his time by over a second in FP2, finishing 0.122s off the top spot.

Marc Márquez was fifth in both sessions and sixth overall, despite crashing at Turn 2 in the final stages of FP2.

Márquez and Dani Pedrosa led FP1 and FP2, respectively, for long spells, showing their strong pace at the Valencian track.

Marc Márquez

I felt really good today, so we just tried to work hard for the race, riding with used tires to find the best setting and the best compromise. We tried two different setups, one similar to what we used last year and one more based on what we’ve been using recently. Tomorrow we’ll adjust the final details and we’ll go for a time attack, but I’m happy with the general feeling. Our pace this morning, on a medium rear tire, was good and in the afternoon I felt well on a soft rear, despite a small crash during my last lap when I was pushing a little bit more. It was important to start the weekend well, and I feel good on the bike, so we’ll try to keep this momentum going until Sunday.

Dani Pedrosa

I’m happy enough with how today went. In the afternoon, when the track was a little warmer and there was more grip than in the morning, I felt more comfortable on the bike. If it remains dry through the weekend, as it seems it will, the track will continue to improve and the grip will also get better, so we must remain focused and continue in this direction. Today we worked well to understand the tires, our pace and bike setup, but tomorrow will be another important day of practice and opportunity to continue the progress. Sunday’s race is in the afternoon, but we’ll want to improve also in cooler conditions.