Marc Marquez set the pace in the opening MotoGP practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi ahead of his Aprilia title rivals.
Track conditions were sub-optimal after rain earlier in the day, which meant the full-time riders were slow to set their first laps given the greasy feel on the circuit.
Takaaki Nakagami suffered a big highside on his first lap of the session, further delaying some riders’ plans for FP1.
It took almost 15 minutes for the rest of the grid to head on circuit – with Somkiat Chantra and the Pramac Yamaha pairing of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller the only three to set early competitive laps.
After all riders set their best lap times, it was Marquez who came out on top, posting a 1:44.073s to finish FP1 as the fastest rider.
Marquez edged in front of both of his title rivals, with Jorge Martin second and 0.099s off the best time while Marco Bezzecchi was half a tenth further back in third.
Alex Marquez finished fourth at the flag, while Johann Zarco impressed as top Honda to complete the top five.
Fabio Quartararo also pulled out a strong lap in sixth on the Yamaha, with Raul Fernandez seventh and Francesco Bagnaia eighth. Fabio Di Giannantonio was ninth at the end of FP1 while Pedro Acosta rounded out the top 10.
Diogo Moreira was the final rider within a second of Marquez’s time down in 11th, with Franco Morbidelli three-tenths back in 12th.
Ai Ogura was 13th in his first outing of his home weekend, with Chantra taking 14th as he came in as a replacement for the unwell Joan Mir. Fermin Aldeguer was narrowly faster than Razgatlioglu as both riders finished 15th and 16th.
Brad Binder led a trio of KTMs in 17th, as Maverick Vinales finished ahead of Tech3 team-mate Enea Bastianini on his first session back from injury. Luca Marini was 20th over Alex Rins and Miller, while Nakagami completed the standings after failing to set an official lap due to his crash.
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