Practice pacesetter Marc Marquez hopes Honda can adapt with the conditions and remain at the head of the field in Argentina following a “strange” day of MotoGP practice.

Marquez was second in the first session and then fastest in the second, as Honda riders filled four of the top five places.

Both sessions were defined by track conditions, which puzzled Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, and while Marquez was pleased to be on top, he knows that may change as the grip level increases.

“Today was a bit of a strange day, but the feeling was good in the end and we finished first on the time sheets,” he said. “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 it 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.

“I think during the weekend it will improve a lot, but it looks like with this kind of conditions the Honda is working not so bad, but we are losing a lot in some points that we must work harder. The key of the weekend will be to understand each practice the conditions and to try to adapt the set-up to those conditions.”

Dani Pedrosa finished the day second, just 0.025 seconds behind his teammate, having been well adrift in Qatar’s season opener. He agreed with Marquez that Honda’s fortunes would be defined by how it evolved with the conditions.

“I think these track conditions maybe are rough for some other riders, maybe for the setting or for the bike,” he said. “I guess the gaps will be a little bit different when the grip improves.

“At this moment we are working also to improve our performance when the track improves, we still want to keep that gap.”