ESPARGARO SETS THE PACE DOWN UNDER

thestar.com.my/ /sport

PHILLIP ISLAND ( Australia): Aleix Espargaro pipped world championship leader Marc Marquez to set the fastest time in practice ahead of this weekend’s Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.

The Spanish Aprilia rider posted a quickest lap of 1:29.225 in second free practice on a dry track.

Espargaro’s time, set on the fifth lap of his afternoon session, pre- vailed by just 0.005 seconds over Marquez, who almost bettered the time on his penultimate lap.

“It is just the first day, but we are doing a great job,” Espargaro said.

“We can improve on pace. The RS-GP (bike) still doesn’t turn the way I would like it to and I am lacking a bit of feeling on the front.

“Finding a good feeling for the race will be fundamental.”

Marquez, who leads the world championship by 11 points with three races left, clocked 1:29.230 following his chart-topping 1:29.602 in the morning session.

“I think for tomorrow we can try and further improve the set-up, especially the stability of the bike in the fast corners,” Marquez said.

“There are a few places where we could be quicker if we can manage to take another step in that area.”

Championship challenger Andrea Dovizioso was third quickest overall, finishing just 0.097s behind Espargaro.

“We have to work to improve a few aspects, because in any case Marquez was also very quick and there are other riders who have a good pace,” Dovizioso said.