2023-04-28 11:50:18
Dani Pedrosa has lifted from their seats the thousands of fans who, from early in the morning, populate the greats of the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto. The KTM tester was the surprise on Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix after leading the first morning training session held on the Andalusian trackan FP1 that has been held with about 28º C ambient temperature and a track in perfect condition.
Number 26 has been very active from the start, and they have shown it the 20 laps he has completed over the 45 minutes of FP1, a record that was only surpassed by Fabio Quartararo with 21 laps. Pedrosa remained in the top 6 with the medium rear tire, lapping just two tenths behind the leading riders, and when he mounted the soft rubber and launched his time-attack, he left everyone speechless signing a very fast lap in 1: 36.770remaining six tenths of the absolute record in Jerez that Pecco Bagnaia set last year (1’36.170).
Pedrosa -who has just completed several days of private tests with KTM in Jerez-, he has shown a devastating pace both in the lap by lap with a medium tire and in his attack on the time trial. The KTM rider used an RC16 with an air intake slightly different from the one used by the other Austrian bikes, thus taking advantage of his presence as a wildcard to continue testing new features on his bike.
In his last and definitive lap of FP1, the Catalan surpassed Jorge Martin; The man from Madrid took an important step forward with the soft rear rubber, as demonstrated by his 1:36.804, which placed him in second place, 34 thousandths behind Pedrosa, followed by the best Honda of this morning session, that of Takaaki Nakagami (3rd +0.274), who has also surprised with medium and soft rubber, staying at the top of the time table since the halfway point of FP1.
Luca Mariniwho has just won his first podium in Austin, maintains his speed and finishes fourth, 283 thousandths behind Pedrosa, followed by the Aprilia of Alex espargaró (5th +0.320) and the KTM of Brad Binder (6º)who was three tenths behind his factory partner, Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa power ????@26_DaniPedrosa shows more speed halfway through #MotoGP P1 and storms to the top of the timesheets! ????#SpanishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/uH93xQaVH4
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) April 28, 2023
The top ten positions of this very fast FP1 were completed by Alex Marquez (7º +0.368), Jack Miller (8º +0.492), I’m sorry Bagnaia (9th +0.618) and Maverick Vinales (10th +0.619). Most of the riders have already chosen to mount the soft rubber in their last outing in anticipation of the high temperatures that are expected for FP2 in the afternoon, with highs that could easily exceed 33 °Ccomplicating track grip.
Except for Nakagami, not a good session overall for Hondawhich has seen the winner of the GP of the Americas, Alex Rins, finish 12th (+0.717), ahead of a Joan Mir (15th +1,080) who is still far from the best. The exceptional fellow ranks of him, Iker Lecuonacompleted 16 laps on the handlebars of Marc Márquez’s RC213V, a first contact that allowed him to finish 24th, almost four seconds behind the fastest times.
Problems also at Yamaha; This is evidenced by the 18th and 20th position occupied by Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli respectively, although in favor of the Frenchman it should be noted that the soft rear tire has been reserved for FP2, not Morbidelli, who finished far behind and 1.3 seconds behind Dani Pedrosa.
As hectic as it gets ????@takanakagami30 against the Aprilias and the @pramacracing duo now! ⏱️#SpanishGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/WNcSfNx4wZ
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) April 28, 2023
MotoGP will return to action again from 15:00 in the afternoonon the occasion of FP2.
Read also: Rins: “My words were titled as if I were angry with Honda, but I am calm”
Results MotoGP Spanish GP FP1
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