KTM MotoGP rider Brad Binder led Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in the opening practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.
An early 1m38.260s effort by Espargaro meant Aprilia occupied the top spot for most of the session, with the Spaniard leading a trio of Yamahas at the halfway point.
Espargaro was also the first rider to improve upon that time in the final 10 minutes, finding an extra half a tenth.
He maintained the lead until Binder moved to the top from fourth place at the chequered flag.
Binder’s 1m38.013s left him two tenths clear of Espargaro, but was still well off the times that topped FP1 at either of Jerez’s two MotoGP race weekends last year.
The returning Marc Marquez took third place for Honda, while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia shot up from 14th to fourth at the final moment.
Early pace-setter Fabio Quartararo fell to an eventual fifth, making it five different marques in the top five on his Yamaha M1.
His team-mate Maverick Vinales was ninth, the pair split by Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati), Miguel Oliveira (KTM) and Pol Espargaro (Honda) – the latter having a major gravel trip during FP1 when he went off after passing Enea Bastianini (Avintia Ducati).
Reigning champion Joan Mir completed the top 10 despite largely sitting out the first half of the session, while Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) set an identical time to Mir’s in 11th, ending up 0.471s off the pace and just 0.008s ahead of Petronas Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli.
The second Aprilia of Lorenzo Savadori was an impressive 13th, following the factory Hondas on his fastest lap.
Tito Rabat, who returns to MotoGP this weekend as Jorge Martin’s stand-in at Pramac Ducati, was 21st, just behind Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) and ahead of Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati) and Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM).
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1m38.013s | ||
| 2 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.191s | +0.191s | 1m38.204s |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.087s | +0.278s | 1m38.291s |
| 4 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.01s | +0.288s | 1m38.301s |
| 5 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.043s | +0.331s | 1m38.344s |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.053s | +0.384s | 1m38.397s |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.001s | +0.385s | 1m38.398s |
| 8 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.035s | +0.42s | 1m38.433s |
| 9 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.001s | +0.421s | 1m38.434s |
| 10 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.05s | +0.471s | 1m38.484s |
| 11 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0s | +0.471s | 1m38.484s |
| 12 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.008s | +0.479s | 1m38.492s |
| 13 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.138s | +0.617s | 1m38.63s |
| 14 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.076s | +0.693s | 1m38.706s |
| 15 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.058s | +0.751s | 1m38.764s |
| 16 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.055s | +0.806s | 1m38.819s |
| 17 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.052s | +0.858s | 1m38.871s |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.183s | +1.041s | 1m39.054s |
| 19 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.056s | +1.097s | 1m39.11s |
| 20 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.189s | +1.286s | 1m39.299s |
| 21 | Tito Rabat | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.203s | +1.489s | 1m39.502s |
| 22 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.029s | +1.518s | 1m39.531s |
| 23 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.294s | +1.812s | 1m39.825s |
