Mixed weather conditions with cold temperatures and intermittent rain showers on day 2 of the Grand Prix of Argentina saw Dani Pedrosa setting the second fastest lap time on a wet-but-drying Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo track, the Repsol Honda rider earning a brilliant front row start for tomorrow’s race.

Marc Marquez was the quickest rider in FP3 and FP4 but had to settle for a second-row start following a hectic qualifying session which saw him finishing in sixth place. However, his blistering pace in dry and wet conditions alike makes him confident for tomorrow’s 3:00 p.m. MotoGP race, regardless of weather conditions.


Dani Pedrosa - 2nd 1'47.330

“What a qualifying session. It was very tight and challenging with the mixed conditions. Once the rain stopped the track started to dry pretty quickly, and at a certain point there was a dry line. The problem was that turn 7 was completely wet, and then the final corner was pretty damp as well. Jack (Miller) made an incredible pole on slicks. After my first exit, which wasn’t perfect, I considered switching to slicks as well. In the end, I decided to stay with rain tyres and to try and push to the limit. I did a good lap and I’m very happy with the result, because being on the front row is important for tomorrow. Honestly, it’s difficult at the moment to know what tyre choice we’ll make for the race as conditions have changed so much over the weekend. So we’ll wait and see how the weather will be tomorrow, looking forward to a good race either way.”

Marc Marquez - 6th 1'47.754

“Today was quite challenging but very positive as a whole. Qualifying didn’t go as expected but we are not that far. I struggled a bit in my first exit on rain tyres and I don’t know why, because in FP3 and FP4 I had a very good feeling. I decided to try the slick tyres but it was too risky. As soon as I exited the pit I realised that if I touched the wet side of the track the risk of crashing was great. When I passed turn seven and eight I started thinking that pole position is important but that the race is tomorrow, so I came back. It’s a pity we’re not on the front row but I’m happy because I think we’ve worked well this weekend. Yesterday on the dry we’ve been competitive and we’ve been fast today on the wet also. I prefer dry conditions for the race but we’re also ready in case it rains. We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow and what the track conditions are like, then go from there.”