Franco Morbidelli set the pace to top the first MotoGP practice session at the Circuit of the Americas.
The VR46 Ducati rider continued to demonstrate his strong form on the GP24 Ducati, leading the way with a late lap time of 2.12.531s to finish at the top of the standings.
Jack Miller and Marc Marquez followed suit by posting impressive late lap times to finish second and third place, respectively.
The treacherous rainy conditions played their part all session but the slippery surface revealed the usual crop of riders who thrived in those conditions.
Inside the first 15 minutes, the older brother Marquez crashed at the downhill Turn 2 but was fortunate to avoid a highside and injury, thanks to the way the Spaniard fell onto the tarmac.
Marco Bezzecchi replicated Marquez’s crash at Turn 3 several minutes later, with the aquaplaning surface on the track catching riders out.
LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco snatched fourth place at the end of the session, finishing as Honda’s lead rider once again and continuing his strong form following Argentina.
Pedro Acosta made it four different manufacturers inside the top five positions to deliver a strong result for Austrian marque KTM.
Francesco Bagnaia salvaged sixth place ahead of championship rival Alex Marquez, as both riders finished the session less than 0.030s between each other.
2024 COTA race winner Maverick Vinales finished in eighth followed closely by fellow KTM rider Brad Binder.
Augusto Fernandez rounded off the top ten positions on his return to the paddock, filling in for Miguel Oliveira.
The Honda HRC duo of Joan Mir and Luca Marini occupied 11th and 12th place, respectively, pipping MotoGP rookie Fermin Aldeguer.
Fabio Quartararo was Yamahas next best rider in the classification charts after Miller’s strong showing but finished 2s off the Australian rider.
Enea Bastianini brought his KTM home in 15th place ahead of fellow countryman Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Raul Fernandez finished as the lead Aprilia rider down in 17th place, indicating a worrying lack of pace for the Italian outfit.
Somkiat Chantra and Alex Rins sealed 18th and 19th spots for their respective Japanese teams.
However, Aprilia occupied the final three spots on the grid, with Bezzecchi, Lorenzo Savadori, and MotoGP rookie Ai Ogura bringing up the rear.
