MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo set the pace in the opening practice session of the weekend at Misano.
Key moments:
> Quartararo quickest by two tenths
> Ducati tester Pirro shines
> Six Ducatis in top 10
Quartararo spent virtually the entire session either on top or at least towards the sharp end of the timing screens, and underlined his form with a last-gasp 1m32.313s to make sure of first place.
It put him two tenths clear of his nearest rival, the factory Ducati of KTM-bound Jack Miller.
Ducati’s World Superbike-liveried wildcard entry was third in the hands of the impressive Michele Pirro, Ducati’s tester even spending a chunk of the session in first place.
Test rider, wild card, Ducati's do-it-all man! 😎@PirroRider goes to the top! 👏#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/7h5ve6EkRW
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 2, 2022
Quartararo’s nearest rival Aleix Espargaro moved up to fourth at the chequered flag, 0.005s behind Pirro and 0.008s ahead of his Aprilia team-mate Maverick Vinales.
Third title hopeful Francesco Bagnaia made it three Ducatis in the top six, ahead of his 2023 team-mate Enea Bastianini and the lead Suzuki – that of Alex Rins.
Bagnaia, however, is under investigation for getting right in the way of Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) and Bastianini late on.
Rins’s regular team-mate Joan Mir is missing Misano through injury, with 31-year-old Kazuki Watanabe making his MotoGP debut as his stand-in. Watanabe was five seconds off the pace in FP1.
RNF Yamaha veteran Andrea Dovizioso was 16th, the second-best Yamaha behind Quartararo, to begin his farewell MotoGP weekend.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1m32.313s | ||
| 2 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.224s | +0.224s | 1m32.537s |
| 3 | Michele Pirro | Aruba.it Racing | Ducati | +0.156s | +0.38s | 1m32.693s |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.005s | +0.385s | 1m32.698s |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.008s | +0.393s | 1m32.706s |
| 6 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.046s | +0.439s | 1m32.752s |
| 7 | Enea Bastianini | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | +0.086s | +0.525s | 1m32.838s |
| 8 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.02s | +0.545s | 1m32.858s |
| 9 | Luca Marini | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.123s | +0.668s | 1m32.981s |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.018s | +0.686s | 1m32.999s |
| 11 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.106s | +0.792s | 1m33.105s |
| 12 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.102s | +0.894s | 1m33.207s |
| 13 | Marco Bezzecchi | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.011s | +0.905s | 1m33.218s |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.035s | +0.94s | 1m33.253s |
| 15 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.061s | +1.001s | 1m33.314s |
| 16 | Andrea Dovizioso | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.121s | +1.122s | 1m33.435s |
| 17 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.127s | +1.249s | 1m33.562s |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.074s | +1.323s | 1m33.636s |
| 19 | Raul Fernandez | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.051s | +1.374s | 1m33.687s |
| 20 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.143s | +1.517s | 1m33.83s |
| 21 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.025s | +1.542s | 1m33.855s |
| 22 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | +0.042s | +1.584s | 1m33.897s |
| 23 | Remy Gardner | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.268s | +1.852s | 1m34.165s |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.671s | +2.523s | 1m34.836s |
