An encouraging first day for the Repsol Honda Team at the Misano Test as Marc Marquez returned to a MotoGP machine 100 days after his operation, and Pol Espargaro showed his and the bike’s potential.
The Adriatic Coast produced another beautiful day as action resumed at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Marquez returns
It was a momentous day as Marc Marquez returned to the Repsol Honda Team for the first time since the Italian GP in late May. Starting just after 09:30 Local Time, the eight-time World Champion completed a brief first run to initially assess his right arm. With all signs being positive, he and the Repsol Honda Team switched into work mode and began their testing programme.
Completing 39 laps before stopping for the day during the lunch break, the #93 ended his first day back on the bike with the best time of 1’32.395 – good enough for 11th on Sunday’s San Marino GP grid. Although lap times were not the focus, Marquez could still end the day 1.1s behind the fastest rider.
#44
It was an equally positive day for Pol Espargaro, who set a best lap of 1’31.707, some 1.1 seconds faster than his time from Q1 on Saturday. Limiting his running due to lingering pain in his right wrist from Sunday’s crash, the #44 was still able to complete 50 laps and stopped just before 16:30 Local Time. Espargaro and his team ran through several setting options and improved his feeling aboard the Repsol Honda. Even with the limited laps, Espargaro was satisfied with the day.
Testing resumes tomorrow, Wednesday 07, at 09:00 Local Time. The Repsol Honda Team aims for another productive day before preparing for the Aragon GP and the flyaway races.
Marc Márquez 93
Repsol Honda Team
After 100 days away, wow – these bikes are fast! It’s the same as when you arrive at the first test after winter. It takes you some time to adjust. It was perfect to be back, ride this bike again, and be with my team. Step by step, I felt faster and more comfortable, but I need to work more to gain the strength for longer runs.
I was able to try some items for Honda after a few runs because I was feeling good. Honda is working a lot, it’s clear. Our target today wasn’t timed. It was to do 40 laps and understand our situation. We decided to stop early to try and ride tomorrow. I will do much work with physio, ice and stretching tonight to help recover the arm.
Pol Espargaro 44
Repsol Honda Team
On Monday, I woke up with much swelling in my rest, but with much ice, I have been able to ride today. It’s not as many laps as I typically do because I also aim to ride tomorrow. Even with fewer laps, we have been able to find out some good things.
We worked a lot on finding the differences between Qatar and now. It looks like we have found something that could help us get our speed back a bit. The real test for this will be when we arrive in Aragon, but it’s good to be on the bike and doing laps now.
Source: HRC
