2023-05-12 18:59:57
The day began at the Le Mans circuit and all the spotlights were on the Repsol Honda box, where Marc Márquez was returning after missing the last three races. At about 10:45 in the morning the traffic light in the ‘pit lane’ turned green and Cervera did not lose a second. His mechanics started his Honda and he got back on his MotoGP after a month and a half in the dry dock. Seven laps and twelve minutes later he suffered his first crash of the day, which he would later describe as “expendable”.
That morning training session would end up completing it without further mishaps and with the twelfth best time. Already in the afternoon session, the Spaniard worked on a new chassis that Honda has developed in line with the small German factory of Kalex, which is the supplier of most of the Moto2 chassis. This time he took it more calmly, since his main objective was to recover sensations on his bike and compare both chassis; at least during the first fifty minutes of the sixty that these training sessions lasted. In the last ten minutes he had to go through the garage, mount a new soft tire and go looking for a time among the top ten, which would ensure his direct passage to Q2.
In this scenario the Catalan pilot also had a plan. Find a fast rider’s wheel and try to keep up with him. He didn’t find many ‘friends’ who offered him a wheel, so he made a living and got in the wake of Jorge Martín’s Ducati. With the first turn he had already secured his time in the top 10 (eighth) but, maverick as usual, Márquez pushed the Honda’s limits in the final moments until he crashed. I would describe this fall as “inevitable” when he has to push with the Honda.
«If I have come back it is because I am ready to drive, ready to push, ready to work for the team. And working for the team is pushing the bike to the limit. I could accept a dip, or be half a second slower than the other Hondas and be out of Q2. But that’s not my style. My style is to squeeze », he highlighted. The two falls, both the “expendable” and the “inevitable”, show that Márquez has recovered from his last one what his Honda lacks, which is at a clear disadvantage with the competition.
Miller lengthens KTM’s state of grace
While Márquez risked to qualify directly for Q2, the dominator on Friday at Le Mans was Jack Miller, who led the two practices and keeps KTM in his cloud after the double podium in Jerez. The Australian got the better of Aleix Espargaró in second, who overcame another crash and a technical problem with his Aprilia in the second session. His brand partner, Maverick Viñales, also completed Friday with the sixth fastest time of the day.
In that top 10 that gave direct access to Q2, in addition to Márquez’s Honda, the two KTMs, the two Aprilias and five Ducati qualified. Among them, those of the Spaniards Jorge Martín (fourth) and Álex Márquez (tenth), and that of the current MotoGP leader, Pecco Bagnaia (ninth), who passed in the final minutes and with more problems than usual. Among those who left their homework to Saturday morning, the other two Honda riders, Joan Mir and Álex Rins. And also the French idol, Fabio Quartararo, twelfth, and who had no misgivings in admitting that he was in his “worst moment on Yamaha”. All of them will look for their place in Q2 through the Q1 play-off, in which there is only room for two.
The fight for pole position will be the first major focus of attention on the French GP programme. It will start at 10:50 in the morning; and will define the grids for both the sprint race on Saturday afternoon (from 3:00 p.m.) and the long race on Sunday. The qualifying sessions for the small categories will also take place, led by Jaume Masià in Moto3 and Sam Lowes in Moto2 on the first day of Le Mans.
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