Having finished inside the top six in FP1 for the Grand Prix of Argentina, Alex Márquez and Xavi Vierge are confident of automatically progressing to Saturday’s Q2 qualifying session.

• Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS team-mates Alex Márquez and Xavi Vierge started the Grand Prix of Argentina on the front foot, posting strong race pace in low temperatures and low grip track conditions in FP1.
• As temperatures increased both riders conducted a series of set-up changes, as well as trying both tyre options.
• In a typically tight, action-packed day of Moto2 free practice, just 0.928s covered the top 20 riders in FP2.

Alex Márquez: 15th, 1:43.806, 36 laps, 173 km.

• Around a track he enjoys, Márquez ended FP1 with the fifth fastest lap time, just 0.247s off Luca Marini’s fastest lap.
• The Spaniard used just one tyre during the 16 laps he was on track in the morning session.
• Márquez had issues with drive grip after several laps of running with the soft rear tyre in FP2.

“With the soft tyre we weren’t as fast as expected in FP2”

“In the end it was a tough day for us. In the morning we started well and did a good job. I was feeling good. I had good feedback from the bike and the rhythm was good. In the afternoon we fitted the soft tyre, which theoretically could be an option for the race. I felt pretty good with the soft for the first few laps but then we ran into problems with the drive grip. With the hard tyre it feels OK with a good rhythm. But with the soft we have to work out what happened and why we weren’t as fast as expected in FP2. I’m sure tomorrow will be a positive day. We need to start well. It’s important to set a good time in FP3 so we can qualify automatically for Q2.”

Xavi Vierge: 20th, 1:44.281, 26 laps, 125 km.

• Around a track in which he enjoys a strong record, Vierge conducted good work with Dunlop’s hard rear tyre in FP1, ending the session 6th, 0.294s slower than the fastest rider.
• The 21-year old suffered a small crash at Turn 5 in FP2 on his first lap of his second run when using a new soft rear tyre.
• Despite his lowly position, he was still less than 1 second slower than Thomas Luthi’s fastest lap of the day. Vierge also believes he has a strong rhythm for Sunday’s race.

“The crash was a pity but tomorrow will be a good day”

“The crash was a pity because we felt really good from the beginning. But I cannot ride with the soft rear tyre. With the hard I feel really good and I was very competitive compared to the other one. But then when I put the softer tyre to make a good lap time I crashed on the first lap. We need to analyse it because it was a really strange crash. It was a real shame because I couldn’t restart the bike and when it arrived to the box the session was almost done. So we can’t make the lap time with the soft tyres. Anyway we need to remain positive. We’ve done a good job. We are competitive and tomorrow we will start FP3 with a new tyre because I could not use it. It will be a good day.”

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