A late soft-tyre run by championship leader Jorge Martin put him in his habitual top spot in first practice for MotoGP's Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona.
But before then, the session was led almost throughout by Marc Marquez. Still searching for his first win as a Ducati rider, Gresini's six-time champion's 1m39.871s still held up for second behind Martin's 1m39.579s flier.
Brad Binder was an encouraging third and top KTM after a difficult recent run, albeit with Tech3 Gas Gas' rookie sensation Pedro Acosta right behind him by the end. Acosta escaped a quick trip through the gravel in one of the morning's few incidents.
Low grip consequences 😮
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 24, 2024
A little off for @37_pedroacosta at T7 ⚠️#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/1krLXto97B
Fresh from announcing his MotoGP retirement, Aleix Espargaro completed the top five for Aprilia.
All four KTM/Gas Gas bikes were in the top 10 and two Ducatis were well down the order - the works Desmosedici of Enea Bastianini 19th and Marco Bezzecchi's VR46 bike 22nd ahead of just Honda tester Stefan Bradl.
But with this the least relevant session of the weekend for raw pace, those positions - and the Repsol Hondas of Luca Marini and Joan Mir being as 'high' as 17th and 18th - are likely to be anomalies.
