Espargaro crashes but tops Aragon MotoGP FP1, Marquez 11th

MotoGP title hopeful Aleix Espargaro led the way in the first practice session of the Aragon weekend, as the returning Marc Marquez placed 11th.

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Key moments:

> Espargaro falls but stays ahead

> Bagnaia a close second

> Yamaha running new chassis

> Busy practice for Marquez

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Aragon specialist Espargaro was the only rider to crash during the session, falling off after coming in too hot into the Turn 16 left-hander after the back straight.

Just as it all looked like it was going perfectly to plan 😮@AleixEspargaro meets a bump in the road! 💥

After a quick hobble, thankfully Aleix was able to get back on the bike 👍#AragonGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/cwHORopO2f

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 16, 2022

Yet the Aprilia rider was already in first place by then, courtesy of a 1m48.686s, and though there remained plenty of time to depose him from the top spot, nobody did.

Francesco Bagnaia, winner of four races on the trot coming into Aragon, was a close second, just 0.012 seconds off Espargaro.

Two more riders lapped within a tenth of the benchmark, those being Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Brad Binder (KTM), although in the latter’s case it was due to a last-second run on fresh tyres that elevated him from 20th to fourth – only for a subsequent laptime deletion to send him back down.

LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami therefore took fourth place instead.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo had a perhaps predictably muted showing in eighth place, four tenths off and just 0.003s up on team-mate Franco Morbidelli, with both putting laps on the new chassis Yamaha had introduced in the Misano test.

Marquez, absent since Mugello, marked his return to a MotoGP race weekend in 11th place, completing 18 laps.

Fellow MotoGP returnee Cal Crutchlow, stepping into the RNF Yamaha box vacated by the retiring Andrea Dovizioso, was 16th – one place ahead of Joan Mir, back on the Suzuki after having missed the Misano race and test due to an ankle injury.

Practice 1 Results