It was a positive first day at the Iveco Daily TT Assen for Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, at a track which has not always favoured the RC213V.

In FP1 the pair placed fourth and eighth respectively, but as the temperatures and track improved in the afternoon, they found their rhythm in FP2.

Marquez finished the day in second with his best time of 1’33.864 arriving on lap 18 of 19 and Pedrosa was just behind him in third, recording his top time of 1’34.069 on his final lap of 20.

The factory Honda riders were only outpaced by Aleix Espargaro who set the best time of the day on a softer rear tyre on the ‘Open’ Forward Yamaha.

Marquez commented,

"It went pretty well and I'm happy, because last year we suffered a lot at this track. I think is a good track for both Honda and Yamaha; they were better here last year but maybe this year we have taken a step forward and I feel very comfortable and happy with the pace that I have. We'll see tomorrow, because it seems that we’re not so strong in the low temperatures, but I am convinced that we can match the competitors level.”

Pedrosa added,

"We were fortunate to have two dry sessions here in Assen. In the morning the track was cooler but in the afternoon we had a very good track temperature, which allowed us to improve our feeling a little and in general we had good conditions for riding. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what condition the track is in, and then hope for a good qualifying session”




.