Marc Marquez led the first practice session for the Catalan Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, snatching the top spot late on from Maverick Vinales.
The Honda man led the session early on, setting a succession of quick laps to lead the field by over a second. The rest started to catch up soon after, Franco Morbidelli stealing the top spot with a 1:41.160.
Marquez quickly fought back, posting a time just over two-tenths faster shortly before Vinales took his turn at the head of the timesheets, the Yamaha pilot shaving 0.043 from Marquez’s flyer.
Marquez was not to be denied however, and hit back with a marginally quicker 1:40.858 to storm back to the top of the standings with just seconds remaining in the session. He then improved a further 0.166 to extend his advantage on his final lap of the opening session of the weekend.
Fabio Quartararo looked set to usurp the Spaniard, the Petronas SRT Yamaha rider nearly two-tenths up with just a sector remaining, but was blocked by Bradley Smith’s Aprillia and was therefore forced to settle for second fastest, just ahead of Vinales.
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso managed fourth fastest ahead of Mugello star Takaaki Nakagami, while Jack Miller slotted his Pramac Ducati GP19 in just behind in sixth.
Alex Rins was top Suzuki in seventh position, ahead of Morbidelli who slipped down to eighth by the flag, while Valentino Rossi for Yamaha and Aleix Espargaro’s Aprillia rounded out the top ten.
Jorge Lorenzo yet again struggled on a circuit he won at on the Ducati last year, the Mallorcan setting the 17th quickest time on his factory Honda just ahead of Mugello race winner Danilo Petrucci, who also struggled on his Ducati.
Lorenzo is competing with an upgraded Honda RC-213V this weekend, having visited the HRC factory in Japan in an effort to make his machine more comfortable to ride by making several changes to improve ergonomics, including a flatter section just behind his seat.
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