The Team Estrella Galicia Marc VDS 0,0 riders were super-competitive on the opening day of practice to both be within 0.3s of the fastest time with Mir fourth and Marquez fifth overall.

Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Joan Mir and Alex Marquez made the most of two dry practice sessions with sunny conditions for FP1 with a change to overcast and humid weather for FP2.

Joan Mir showed his early pace for the San Marino Grand Prix with the sixth fastest time in FP1 and backed this with an a 0.5s improvement in FP2. That placed the Spanish rider fourth fastest overall with a best lap of 1.38.075 and a contender for a front row position in qualifying.

Alex Marquez worked on race set-up in FP1 and did not try the soft rear tyre and was content with 10th place. But he showed his real pace in FP2 with the fifth fastest time overall and is confident of his speed for a strong qualifying run tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s FP3 session is scheduled for 10:55am with qualifying at 3:05pm.

Joan Mir: 4th, 1’38.075, +0.312, 41 laps, 173 km
“Right from the opening laps of FP1 I had a nice feeling on the bike and the team worked in a good direction and we were always amongst the top five riders. The plan is to continue this work for a strong race set-up and to also go for pole position in qualifying.”

Alex Marquez: 5th, 1’38.089 +0.326, 43 laps, 181 km
“I really enjoyed today at a track where sometimes I have struggled in the past. But the pace was good in both sessions although I waited until FP2 to try the soft rear tyre and I feel we can still be faster. Importantly my rhythm is consistent and hopefully we make a step in the morning to be ready for a strong run in qualifying.”