MotoGP leader Marquez struggles as Dovizioso leads
Honda rider faces technical problems in Grand Prix of Japan’s practice
MOTEGI:
World championship leader Marc Marquez struggled to regain his top shape yesterday during practice ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix of Japan, as his team scrambled to find the correct set-up.
The Spaniard's first match-point for this season's title began on a rocky footing, as he went through a minor crash early in practice when he attempted to turn a corner with issues also with shaking of his machine.
The 21-year-old Honda man got up quickly after the fall and hopped on a scooter to confer with his team before going out again to Motegi's Twin Ring circuit, known for its stop-and-go design with lots of hard braking and acceleration points.
"I was not able to work well with the set-up," said Marquez after practice.
Marquez can retain his MotoGP title with a victory at Motegi, home to Honda.
Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso submitted shining performance yesterday, benefiting from an extra soft rear tyre to set the best time of the day with one minute and 45.140 seconds, leaving a 0.440sec gap ahead of former world champion Jorge Lorenzo, winner at Motegi last year.
They were followed by Stefan Bradl on LCR Honda, Dani Pedrosa on Honda, and Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi.
Marquez clocked sixth, 0.799sec slower than the leading Italian.
Dovizioso also marked faster practice time than Marquez in Grand Prix of Aragon two weeks ago.
Marquez complained about shaking of his machine during the morning practice session, when he could not brake in time at turn five.
"When I arrived at the braking point, there was no brake, zero,” he said. “Then I tried to brake in two, three, four times. But it was becoming too late.
"In the end, I was able to brake a little bit. But I saw that the wall was coming, and I fell down," he added with a chuckle.
World championship leader Marc Marquez struggled to regain his top shape yesterday during practice ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix of Japan, as his team scrambled to find the correct set-up.
The Spaniard's first match-point for this season's title began on a rocky footing, as he went through a minor crash early in practice when he attempted to turn a corner with issues also with shaking of his machine.
The 21-year-old Honda man got up quickly after the fall and hopped on a scooter to confer with his team before going out again to Motegi's Twin Ring circuit, known for its stop-and-go design with lots of hard braking and acceleration points.
"I was not able to work well with the set-up," said Marquez after practice.
Marquez can retain his MotoGP title with a victory at Motegi, home to Honda.
Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso submitted shining performance yesterday, benefiting from an extra soft rear tyre to set the best time of the day with one minute and 45.140 seconds, leaving a 0.440sec gap ahead of former world champion Jorge Lorenzo, winner at Motegi last year.
They were followed by Stefan Bradl on LCR Honda, Dani Pedrosa on Honda, and Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi.
Marquez clocked sixth, 0.799sec slower than the leading Italian.
Dovizioso also marked faster practice time than Marquez in Grand Prix of Aragon two weeks ago.
Marquez complained about shaking of his machine during the morning practice session, when he could not brake in time at turn five.
"When I arrived at the braking point, there was no brake, zero,” he said. “Then I tried to brake in two, three, four times. But it was becoming too late.
"In the end, I was able to brake a little bit. But I saw that the wall was coming, and I fell down," he added with a chuckle.