Johann Zarco smashed the Red Bull Ring MotoGP lap record to top the first practice session ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo stopped in the final minute of the session.
Zarco left it late to set a new lap record and top FP1, one week after his Pramac Ducati team-mate Jorge Martin claimed his maiden MotoGP victory at the same circuit.
A few seconds before, Quartararo was forced to pull his bike off the circuit at the final corner with a suspected technical issue. He eventually restarted and returned to his Yamaha garage.
Zarco’s benchmark was almost eight tenths of a second faster than reigning champion Joan Mir, with Alex Rins having a strong run to make it two Suzuki riders in the top three.
Last weekend’s FP1 pacesetter Takaaki Nakagami was fourth quickest for LCR Honda, ahead of the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro, who had a truncated session with some technical issues.
Quartararo ended the session in sixth place ahead of Nakagami’s team-mate Alex Marquez and the factory Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia.
The top 10 was completed by Marc Marquez, who was visibly struggling with his shoulder injury, and Styrian GP victor Martin.
The lead KTM was the injured Miguel Oliveira in 15th place, one place ahead of his team-mate Brad Binder.
Ducati’s Jack Miller had a trip through the Turn 4 gravel in the final five minutes of the session, and struggled to 17th place.
Maverick Vinales didn’t participate in the session after Yamaha suspended him from competing this weekend over “irregular” bike operation – his future for the rest of the season remains unclear but he watched the action trackside, still wearing Yamaha uniform.
Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori was also absent as he receives surgery following his fiery crash with Dani Pedrosa at the Red Bull Ring last weekend. He’s hoping to return at Silverstone.
The works Yamaha team and Aprilia are both fielding single-bike teams this weekend without Vinales and Savadori.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m22.827s | ||
| 2 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.798s | +0.798s | 1m23.625s |
| 3 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.105s | +0.903s | 1m23.73s |
| 4 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.06s | +0.963s | 1m23.79s |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.051s | +1.014s | 1m23.841s |
| 6 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.024s | +1.038s | 1m23.865s |
| 7 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.016s | +1.054s | 1m23.881s |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.022s | +1.076s | 1m23.903s |
| 9 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.064s | +1.14s | 1m23.967s |
| 10 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.077s | +1.217s | 1m24.044s |
| 11 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.053s | +1.27s | 1m24.097s |
| 12 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.14s | +1.41s | 1m24.237s |
| 13 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.093s | +1.503s | 1m24.33s |
| 14 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.005s | +1.508s | 1m24.335s |
| 15 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.012s | +1.52s | 1m24.347s |
| 16 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.145s | +1.665s | 1m24.492s |
| 17 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.036s | +1.701s | 1m24.528s |
| 18 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.227s | +1.928s | 1m24.755s |
| 19 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.037s | +1.965s | 1m24.792s |
| 20 | Cal Crutchlow | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.503s | +2.468s | 1m25.295s |
