Marquez ready to crock ’n roll
MARC MARQUEZ fired a warning shot to his rivals yesterday as he returned to Motogp action with the sixth fastest lap of the day in Portugal after a nine-month lay-off.
The six-time premier class champion was just 0.473secs off the fastest time set by Pecco Bagnaia as he hit the track at Portimao for one of his trademark out-of-shape laps in the closing minutes of practice. The Repsol
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Honda rider was keeping his cards close to his chest last night as he admitted he was unsure how his injured arm would hold up for the rest of the weekend.
But the Spaniard ominously revealed that even he had been surprised by his comeback pace.
“It is great to be back,” said Marquez (left).
“We are in a better situation than we were expecting before the weekend.
“I’m riding the bike following my own way and the lap times are coming well.
“The main question for me is still how the arm will react over the weekend.”
While all eyes were on Marquez throughout both practice sessions for tomorrow’s Portuguese GP, Bagnaia was quietly dominating the day as the only rider to dip below 1.40-mark as he clocked a best lap of 1min 39.866secs.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was second quickest, just 0.340secs adrift of the Italian, with the reigning champion, Suzuki’s Joan Mir, 0.079secs behind in third.
Championship leader Johann Zarco was eighth while Valentino Rossi continued to struggle with his Petronas Yamaha and ended the day 15th.