Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) – The Japanese made an impressive return in Jerez with P6 and was the only Honda driver in the top ten on Friday. For the Japanese, it is important to look ahead after a botched start to the season and find the right footing again to follow up on his excellent performance last year.

A first conclusion after the first day of MotoGP in Jerez de la Frontera

As indicated early on, numerous of the drivers had not yet revealed their cards in the first free practice. In this respect it was to be expected that the results of the morning should have little to do with the status after the FP2. At least KTM was able to look forward to Brad Binder’s first provisional pole for a moment. Since the start of the season, no one of the oranges has ever been at the forefront, at least on a racing weekend. At least two of them were still in the top ten in FP2, as Binder in P10 and Oliveira three positions ahead of the South African. It was to be expected that Rossi would not attack the fastest time, but not the reluctance of Marc Marquez, which surprised many observers. Below is the result with the MotoGP FP2 and in italics the pilots who are currently not directly qualified for the Q2.

P, No, Rider, Nat, Team, Bike, Km/h, Time, Gap 1st/Prev.
1, 63, Francesco BAGNAIA, 294.2, 1’37.209,
2, 20, Fabio QUARTARARO, 286.4, 1’37.387, 0.178 / 0.178
3, 41, Aleix ESPARGARO, 291.1, 1’37.646, 0.437 / 0.259
4, 21, Franco MORBIDELLI, 285.7, 1’37.704, 0.495 / 0.058
5, 12, Maverick VIÑALES, 287.2, 1’37.726, 0.517 / 0.022
6, 30, Takaaki NAKAGAMI, 288.7, 1’37.775, 0.566 / 0.049
7, 88, Miguel OLIVEIRA, 294.2, 1’37.816, 0.607 / 0.041
8, 42, Alex RINS, 289.5, 1’37.847, 0.638 / 0.031
9, 5, Johann ZARCO, 294.2, 1’37.888, 0.679 / 0.041
10, 33, Brad BINDER, 289.5, 1’37.896, 0.687 / 0.008
11, 6, Stefan BRADL, 295.0, 1’37.939, 0.730 / 0.043
12, 43, Jack MILLER, 295.0, 1’37.965, 0.756 / 0.026
13, 36, Joan MIR, 287.2, 1’38.040, 0.831 / 0.075
14, 44, Pol ESPARGARO, 292.6, 1’38.115, 0.906 / 0.075
15, 10, Luca MARINI, 286.4, 1’38.274, 1.065 / 0.159
16, 93, Marc MARQUEZ, 288.7, 1’38.295, 1.086 / 0.021
17, 9, Danilo PETRUCCI, 287.2, 1’38.462, 1.253 / 0.167
18, 23, Enea BASTIANINI, 290.3, 1’38.516, 1.307 / 0.054
19, 32, Lorenzo SAVADORI, 283.4, 1’38.594, 1.385 / 0.078
20, 73, Alex MARQUEZ, 290.3, 1’38.618, 1.409 / 0.024
21, 46, Valentino ROSSI, 284.2, 1’38.698, 1.489 / 0.080
22, 27, Iker LECUONA, 288.0, 1’38.713, 1.504 / 0.015
23, 53, Tito RABAT, 290.3, 1’39.023, 1.814 / 0.310

Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda box – the “new” Marquez is currently surprising in all respects with his behavior on and off the track and caused many observers to shake their heads the day before FP1.

The events on Friday morning

In FP1, the two Red Bull KTM riders showed that they can finally be expected again this weekend. Binder set the best time and Oliveira was in P7, although various drivers were clearly not chasing a fast lap in the last few minutes. Marc Marquez, on the other hand, still leaves an ambivalent impression. As the second fastest he was indisputably fast in the first free practice. But at the press conference his statement that he still had to take antibiotics confused. There have been mixed reports of his training since the Portuguese GP. As usual, he is said to have continued to work quite intensively on his fitness during the break after the Portugal GP.

Marc Marquez at the press conference before the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera – his statements confuse not only laypeople, but also some experts and even medical professionals.

No connection with the upper arm is conceivable
Almost every layperson knows when and for how long to take antibiotics for infections. From a medical point of view, it would be more than questionable if the Catalan would still need such medication half a month after his upper arm infection. These are not effective against viruses, but only anti-bacterial; in this case, for example, you should not drive vehicles. Today, modern doctors all over the world are of the unanimous opinion that antibiotics should only be prescribed for a very short period of time. This is what our medical confidant has just explained to us. She completed both a pharmacy degree and then a medical degree. Special laws always apply to racing drivers, but according to our specialist, the statements made by and about Marc make no sense in any way.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) at the season opener in July 2020 at the Circuito de Jerez, when he was back on the track after turn 3 through the gravel bed after having had difficulty preventing a fall before. During his race to catch up, there was a terrible crash in the same corner in which the front wheel of his bike broke his upper arm. Now he has to try to suppress the memory of it if he wants to be at the forefront on the weekend.

Interesting assessments with a few contradictions
HRC test driver Stefan Bradl heard before the race that he estimated Marc Marquez’s condition in Portugal to be around 80 percent of his maximum performance. That will now increase continuously and in Jerez this would certainly show an improvement of 5 to 10 percentage points. When asked about the favorites for the race, the German first named the Yamaha’s and, interestingly, at Ducati, only Zarco and Bagnaia. Apparently he doesn’t trust KTM much, even if, according to his statement, they should improve from Jerez. What was particularly exciting, however, was that he didn’t mention the Suzuki drivers with a single syllable in connection with the race on Sunday, but apparently believed that Marquez would have a podium. However, even many experts doubt whether he will really be able to achieve this with an allegedly 85 to 90 percent fitness level. The simple explanation would therefore be, should Marc really be on the podium, that his condition was more than piled low. This is how many saw it after the race in Portugal. In any case, there was little to be seen of a decrease in strength.

An unusual picture at the Portuguese Grand Prix, when Aleix Espargaró on the Aprilia did not give the 6-time world champion a chance in the race on the Repsol Honda. The man in the front of the picture was again very convincing in Jerez on Friday.

The “Dorna Doku-Soap” and unattractive fringes in the MotoGP clip

It is sometimes interesting to watch the MotoGP clips in peace. These are also shown to the subscribers in the breaks between, for example, FP1 and FP2. You never really know exactly what is intentionally set for the camera and what spontaneous recordings are. For example, it is questionable whether the Marquez medical check actually included cameras that observed everything before these people declared him fit for the race. In any case, during the breaks in Jerez, almost everything revolved around the returnee at Repsol Honda. Marc here and Marc there, sometimes in conversation with this or that team member, then getting on the scooter and saying “I’m tired” into the camera.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) in front of Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) – the two fastest drivers of the Reds on Friday, who are provisionally qualified for the Q2 on Saturday. As expected, there were a few surprises on the first day at the Circuito de Jerez.

Very confusing side effect on the Marquez comeback
Even breaking into tears during an interview, it reminds a lot of so-called “docu soaps”. We found it most disgusting when it was filmed how he briefly posed for a selfie hunter. What about Dreiteufel’s name exactly is going on here? Is this the alleged Dorna Closed Door Protocol? The scene was clearly recorded in Portimão, where spectators were supposedly strictly prohibited. We received a letter from an irritated reader, looked at it for ourselves and were stunned. We also have no answer to how snapshots suddenly appeared on the starting line-up of Jerez last year, despite the alleged bubble. Neither, of course, about this incident. At least it becomes clear why VIP areas with their interior, which cannot be seen from the outside due to special glazing, can also have a practical use in Jerez.

Aerial view of the Circuito de Jerez – with its short straights, the track has little in common with the courses on the first 3 laps. Again it is a ghost race, as in the first year of the corona pandemic, nothing has changed over 9 months later.

The Jerez qualifying is eagerly awaited

Basically, this already applies to the FP3, because numerous co-favorites for top positions were not among the front-runners. Including Joan Mir, the reigning world champion and currently fifth in the World Cup, Jack Miller as the second favorite for the title before the start of the season after the Spaniard and of course Marc Marquez. The rookies have held up well so far, but there have been no sensations in Jerez de la Frontera so far. But all pilots can still use the chance on Saturday morning and qualify directly for Q2. For this reason you should not write off any of them ahead of time and wait to see how the situation presents itself at 10:40 after the third free practice session. Shortly after 2 p.m., the decision about the starting positions for the race on Sunday will follow.

World Championship intermediate result in all classes

From left to right the World Championship stand of MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 with some names that one would not have expected so far ahead before the start of the season, but supposed favorites very far behind.

Schedule and TV program Jerez Grand Prix

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).