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Rain dampens Repsol Honda Team’s qualifying hopes
Moto GP 2022, Round 14
San Marino, September 03, 2022: A trying day on the Italian coast for Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl as changeable conditions robbed both riders of a final flying lap in Q1.
Promising conditions and promising pace buoyed the Repsol Honda Team as Saturday’s action at the San Marino Grand Prix began. Pol Espargaro was looking especially strong in the morning session as he found another 0.3s to end FP3 in ninth. A crash at Turn 15 late in that same session meant the #44 was unable to crack the combined top ten and once again had to participate in Q1. Rain would ruin Espargaro’s chances of improving on his second run and he will therefore start in 19th.
Like his Repsol Honda Team teammate, Stefan Bradl authored further improvements in Free Practice 3 as he went another half a second quicker. With a best time of 1’32.838 before the rain arrived, Bradl will start just behind Espargaro in 20th place for Sunday’s 27-lap race. Bradl’s aim is again to make up positions and return to battling for the points, with a mixed forecast ahead there are still several unknowns for when the lights go out at 14:00 Local Time.
Marc Marquez made a welcome return to the Repsol Honda Team box in Misano, listening in during debriefs and working with Bradl and Espargaro to understand where the RC213V currently is. The eight-time World Champion was declared fit by MotoGP and circuit medical staff.
Pol Espargaro – 19th
“Today was a day where we had a huge amount of potential but there were finally a lot of pieces which did not come together. We made a mistake with the FP3 strategy, my first lap – which was my fastest finally, did not feel that good to me. The second tyre felt much better but I crashed. In the afternoon I was cautious on my first flying lap and then the rain started, so we were really hurt here. Tomorrow is a new day and we will try our best to maximise what is possible in the race.”
Stefan Bradl – 20th
“We have improved again today which is really good, we got very unlucky with when the rain arrived and it stopped us improving further. This can sometimes happen and it’s a shame because we couldn’t show our full speed. Let’s see what will happen tomorrow, our pace is better than some of the riders ahead of us but it can be tricky to overtake around Misano. We also have the weather to contend with.”