Marquez and Pedrosa lead the way in Argentina

Repsol Honda Team riders top timesheets on first day of practice in Termas de Rio Hondo, with first and second position in the combined standings.

The Argentinian Grand Prix weekend got underway on Friday at the Termas de Rio Hondo  circuit, with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa leading the way in a positive day for the  Repsol Honda Team duo. It was a key day for preparing for Sunday's race, as rain is  expected for Saturday. Second and seventh, respectively, in the first Free Practice,  the pair took a step forward in the second 45-minute session in Argentina; they  set the two best times of FP2, separated by just 25 thousandths of a second and more  than 4 tenths ahead of the rider in third. Marc Marquez 1st 1:41.579 32 laps 154 km "Today was a bit of a strange day, but the feeling was good in the end  and we finished first on the timesheets. I think that the conditions will  change a lot during the weekend, even from the first to the second  session we saw the surface improve, although not as much as we had  expected. So far track conditions are worse than last season so seems  that the times will be a long way off those from last year, but it will be  the same for everyone and we are trying to manage it in the best way  possible and adapt the bike as best we can."

Dani Pedrosa 2nd 1:41.604 30 laps 144 km

"On this first day we were able to ride on a dry track, and we 

saw that it was very dirty. It was a little difficult and the times 

were a little slower than we had expected. However, we worked 

as hard as we could with the setup of the bike, and we also 

made more tyre tests in case it will be raining tomorrow. 

It was a positive day, but as always we will try to keep improving."