There is nothing like a first time track covered in wet patches to guarantee a few surprises at the top of the leaderboard. That was certainly the case at opening practice day at The Autodromo Internacional de Goiania-Ayrton Senna in Brazil for the second round of this years MotoGP championship.
Johann Zarco seemed to have mastered the mixed conditions better than most, finishing the day on top followed by Marc Marquez, the master of most conditions.
The biggest, and most encouraging surprise was rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu bagging third slot on board his Pramac Yamaha. These kind of conditions probably represent the best opportunities for the Yamaha riders to shine this year with all four riders putting in encouraging times throughout the day.
Home hero Diogo Moriera dealt with the enormous pressure of the home crowd, mixed conditions and being in only his second MotoGP race, admirably. Regularly featuring in the top ten throughout the day.
Marc Marquez reported that the three week break had helped his fitness and stamina issues considerably. He said he was able to train on two consecutive days for the first time in a long while and, once again, looked competitive on his Ducati.
The one consistent comment from most of the paddock was the layout of the circuit itself, with long flowing fast corners and pleasing technical sectors. However, it was almost as if the race arrived a few months too early for the organisers as work on the paddock and around the circuit was still being carried out on the first day of action on track.
After todays showing and with more rain forecast throughout the weekend, we could be set for some surprise results in this GP.
