Factory KTM rider Pedro Acosta laid down a marker as he set the pace to top the second Valencia MotoGP practice session.
Acosta’s lap time of 1:29.240s was enough to see him take the initiative into Saturday, completing the first day of action in Valencia as the fastest rider on track.
Wildcard Augusto Fernandez crashed at Turn 6 aboard the Yamaha V4 in the opening 10 minutes of the session, as Marco Bezzecchi set the early pace.
Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 4 less than five minutes after heading to the top of the timesheets, but
Ai Ogura suffered the second crash of the session, and was the second for an Aprilia machine to find himself in the gravel trap in Sector 2.
Fabio Quartararo suffered a technical problem halfway through the session, with his Yamaha seeming to leak fuel down the start/finish straight, but was able to rejoin on his second bike.
As the all-important final 10 minutes reached its conclusion, Pedro Acosta moved to the top of the timesheets, where he would remain until the chequered flag was thrown out.
Bezzecchi was the only rider within touching distance of Acosta, 0.053s behind, while Franco Morbidelli completed the top three.
Alex Marquez’s final lap saw him take fourth as Ogura recovered from his crash to complete the top five.
Miller ended a strong day’s running in sixth ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, who ensured both VR46 riders made it directly into Q2.
Fermin Aldeguer was the second Gresini rider to make it inside the top 10 in eighth, with Joan Mir just behind in ninth.
Fabio Quartararo completed the top 10, as Brad Binder narrowly missed out on an automatic Q2 spot in 11th.
Raul Fernandez finished the day’s action in 12th ahead of Honda wildcard Aleix Espargaro and Francesco Bagnaia, who struggled once again aboard the GP25.
Johann Zarco was 15th at the flag, 0.005s ahead of factory Honda rider Luca Marini. Alex Rins completed his day of running in 17th.
0.090s separated the two Tech3 KTM riders, with Maverick Vinales getting the better of Enea Bastianini in 18th and 19th respectively.
Augusto Fernandez was 20th for Yamaha, a few hundreths clear of Miguel Oliveira in 21st.
Jorge Martin found some late improvements but could only manage 22nd, while Somkiat Chantra took 23rd.
Nicolo Bulega rounded out the standings in 24th, 1.312s off Acosta’s best time of the session.
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