DOHA: Defending world champion Marc Marquez shrugged off any lingering effects of shoulder surgery to set the pace in practice at the season-opening Qatar MotoGP on Friday .
Marquez underwent shoulder surgery in December but said on the eve of the trip to the Gulf that he was"close to 100 per cent". The champion again repeated his desire to see Sunday's race moved forward by an hout to combat the night-time chill and humidity in the desert."Nearly all the riders prefer to race at 7pm because there is less chance to have cold weather. But you never know. Today was very nice," he said.
Veteran Valentino Rossi celebrated his 40th birthday last month but looked fresher than all his rivals in the first session on Friday, setting the fastest time on his Yamaha.Miller said he was delighted with his pace ahead of what could prove to be a race played out in testing climactic conditions on Sunday.