MotoGP Portimao: “Tough day, great to see Honda on top - Espargaro

Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro was one of only three riders to improve across Friday’s MotoGP free practice sessions at Portimao.

Topping FP2 outright and sitting comfortably at the top of the times just 0.041s behind teammate Marc Marquez in the combined standings, Espargaro got the best out of a bad situation as relentless rain battered the Algarve International Circuit.

“It was a tough day, especially at the start,” Espargaro admitted on Friday evening. “In the morning I was struggling a lot and we had some problems with the bike, but as a team we worked well to find solutions and in the afternoon, in FP2, we were able to match the speed of Marc and end the session fastest.

“It was wetter in the afternoon, but there was still time to find so I pushed hard at the start of FP2 before more rain came. Wet or dry, it’s important to start the weekend in a strong way and carry this speed during the whole weekend.

“It’s great to see both Repsol Honda Team riders on the top today, let’s continue it for the weekend.”