Championship leader and Honda rider Marc Marquez produced an impressive performance on Friday, during the first two practice sessions for the 2013 US Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Spaniard is making his debut at the tricky Laguna Seca race track and finished third in the first session before topping the timesheets in Free Practice 2.

Marc Marquez
Reuters

Where to Watch Live

Live coverage of qualifying for the 2013 US Grand Prix starts at 10pm BST on BBC Red Button. Real-time Internet updates are available on MotoGP's official website.

Friday Practice Review

Marquez registered his second win of the season at the Sachsenring in Germany. The youngster also benefitted from the withdrawal of defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo and compatriot Dani Pedrosa, both of whom injured collarbones during practice sessions earlier in the race weekend.

The race win catapulted Marquez into the lead of the 2013 championship but both Pedrosa and Lorenzo remain close behind, with 136 and 127 points, respectively, to the leader's 138. There is still more than half the season still to come, meaning this is shaping up into a very exciting battle, particularly with Britain's Cal Crutchlow and multiple former world champion Valentino Rossi also in the mix.

The latter two finished on top of the timesheets after the first session of the day, with 0.091s between the Italian and Crutchlow's 1:22.757. The pair dropped down to fourth and fifth respectively after the second session, with Rossi's 1:22.346 leading Crutchlow.

Meanwhile, the good news for fans of Lorenzo and Pedrosa is that both drivers have travelled to Laguna Seca and have been declared fit to race, after a trackside medical on Friday. According to a note on the competition's official website, Pedrosa did not ride during Friday practice, as a precautionary measure.

Lorenzo did, though, and finished 11th in the first session and sixth in the second, improving by almost two seconds.

Stefan Bradl
Reuters

Top 10 MotoGP Free Practice 2 Times from Laguna Seca:

    1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 1:22.040
    1. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) 1:22.269
    1. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1:22.284
    1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:22.346
    1. Cal Crutchlow (Tech 3 Yamaha) 1:22.457
    1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:22.467
    1. Aleix Espargaro (Aspar ART) 1:22.531
    1. Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Honda) 1:22.539
    1. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1:22.722
    1. Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Yamaha) 1:22.767

For more details on timesheets and race info, click here.

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