Submitted by David Emmett on
MotoGP is back underway, the riders taking to the track again for the first time in over four months. They were up to speed quickly as well, despite the sweltering heat, Marc Marquez setting the fastest time within a hundredth of a second of his best time in FP1 in 2019. The reigning champion was impressive throughout the session.
Alex Rins took second spot on the Suzuki, a quarter of a second behind Marquez, after making a late charge in the session. The same can be said for Valentino Rossi, who was the slowest of the Yamahas until the final ten minutes, before putting in a string of consistently strong laps.
Aleix Espargaro gave Aprilia fans hope, the 2020 RS-GP clearly a strong improvement over last year's bike. Espargaro was fourth just under four tenths off the time of Marquez. Fabio Quartararo ended the session fifth on the Petronas Yamaha, while LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow took the sixth best time.
Jack Miller was the fastest Ducati, ahead of Miguel Oliveira on the KTM, while Pecco Bagnaia rounded out the top ten on the Pramac Ducati. A second covered the first fourteen riders, Bradley Smith finish fifteenth 1.001 behind Marquez.
Times after the first session of testing for the MotoGP class:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:37.941 | ||
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:38.193 | 0.252 | 0.252 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.222 | 0.281 | 0.029 |
| 4 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:38.285 | 0.344 | 0.063 |
| 5 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.312 | 0.371 | 0.027 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:38.313 | 0.372 | 0.001 |
| 7 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP20 | 1:38.348 | 0.407 | 0.035 |
| 8 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:38.426 | 0.485 | 0.078 |
| 9 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.733 | 0.792 | 0.307 |
| 10 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati GP20 | 1:38.792 | 0.851 | 0.059 |
| 11 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:38.823 | 0.882 | 0.031 |
| 12 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:38.844 | 0.903 | 0.021 |
| 13 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha M1 | 1:38.863 | 0.922 | 0.019 |
| 14 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:38.873 | 0.932 | 0.010 |
| 15 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:38.942 | 1.001 | 0.069 |
| 16 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | KTM RC16 | 1:39.089 | 1.148 | 0.147 |
| 17 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati GP19 | 1:39.139 | 1.198 | 0.050 |
| 18 | 73 | Alex Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:39.151 | 1.210 | 0.012 |
| 19 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP20 | 1:39.201 | 1.260 | 0.050 |
| 20 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP20 | 1:39.249 | 1.308 | 0.048 |
| 21 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM RC16 | 1:39.282 | 1.341 | 0.033 |
| 22 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP19 | 1:39.559 | 1.618 | 0.277 |
Comments
Lap times?
It's finally happening :)
David if it's not too much trouble, would it be possible to include the MotoGP circuit record lap time, and or best time of previous years equivalent free practice session below the sessions lap times to give us perspective? I find that as soon as I read little teasers like " . . . setting the fastest time within a hundredth of a second of his best time in FP1 in 2019" that I want to compare last year to this year. Yes I'm that sort of person LOL.
Unfortunately some of us have to be a bit discreet at work and can't Google when the urge demands it.
MotoGP Race Lap Record: Marc
MotoGP Race Lap Record: Marc Marquez, 1:38.051, 2019
MotoGP All Time Lap Record: Fabio Quartararo, 1:36.880, 2019
It was resurfaced before Spring last yr, so records fell. It is HOT now (these were from May 2019), so ?
Thanks
Thanks @Motoshrink. It adds to the depth of the anticipation :)