Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro led the opening practice session for MotoGP’s Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona.
Petronas Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli was out front for most of the session, but was pipped by the fresh-tyred RS-GP of Espargaro in the very final minutes.
Morbidelli had set a 1m40.402s – narrowly quicker than what ex-team-mate Fabio Quartararo recorded in topping the corresponding session from last year’s event – just short of the 10-minute mark.
But with the Italian opting against a late glory run, Espargaro’s 1m40.378s was enough to sneak ahead.
His Honda-riding brother Pol made it two Espargaros in the top three, three and a half tenths down on Morbidelli and 0.002s up on Maverick Vinales – the Yamaha rider contesting his first session with new crew chief Silvano Galbusera.
Like in the Italian GP, Pramac’s Johann Zarco was the lead Ducati here, taking fifth place, with championship leader Quartararo in sixth, and Miguel Oliveira and Joan Mir completing the top eight as the lead KTM and the only Suzuki respectively.
Mir’s regular team-mate Alex Rins is requiring surgery after breaking his arm in a bicycle training crash in the lead-up to the weekend, and the marque has decided not to replace him for this weekend. However, his place will be taken in the post-race test in Barcelona by test rider Sylvain Guintoli.
Jorge Martin, returning from an injury layoff, was an impressive 12th, slotting in between LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami and factory Honda’s Marc Marquez after getting a tow from Marquez on his fastest lap.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1m40.378s | ||
| 2 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.024s | +0.024s | 1m40.402s |
| 3 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.349s | +0.373s | 1m40.751s |
| 4 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.002s | +0.375s | 1m40.753s |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.014s | +0.389s | 1m40.767s |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.086s | +0.475s | 1m40.853s |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.074s | +0.549s | 1m40.927s |
| 8 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.033s | +0.582s | 1m40.96s |
| 9 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.031s | +0.613s | 1m40.991s |
| 10 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.094s | +0.707s | 1m41.085s |
| 11 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.049s | +0.756s | 1m41.134s |
| 12 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.051s | +0.807s | 1m41.185s |
| 13 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.023s | +0.83s | 1m41.208s |
| 14 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.046s | +0.876s | 1m41.254s |
| 15 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.013s | +0.889s | 1m41.267s |
| 16 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.09s | +0.979s | 1m41.357s |
| 17 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.006s | +0.985s | 1m41.363s |
| 18 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.074s | +1.059s | 1m41.437s |
| 19 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.027s | +1.086s | 1m41.464s |
| 20 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.048s | +1.134s | 1m41.512s |
| 21 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.232s | +1.366s | 1m41.744s |
