Rain was feared but instead the first free practice session of the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix was held on dry asphalt. And the Mugello weekend opened under the banner of Aprilia and Maverick Vinales, with the Spanish rider fitting a new medium tire on the rear at the end of the session to set a time of 1’46″140.
On the ups and downs in Tuscany, Ducatis are always expected to take the lion’s share, but surprisingly this morning a particularly competitive Yamaha emerged. Perhaps also thanks to the work carried out in the test held here two weeks ago, Fabio Quartararo hoisted his M1 into second position, only 188 thousandths behind Vinales, also setting a new average in the final. But Alex Rins, despite a crash at San Donato, also managed to finish ninth with his sister bike, just over half a second away.
You have to go down to third place to find the best of the Ducatis, which is the Prima Pramac Racing one entrusted to Franco Morbidelli. The Italian driver pays 288 thousandths, but it must be said that he is one of the few who decided to mount the soft tire in the final, perhaps due to the fear that rain could arrive in the afternoon. In addition to him, his teammate, leader Jorge Martin, also did the same, finishing fifth fastest at 447 thousandths of a second.
Between the two Desmosedici GPs of Paolo Campinoti’s team was the rookie Pedro Acosta, who with his GasGas Tech3 was also the victim of a crash at the end at Scarperia Palagio, but once again demonstrated that he has the pace of the best.
Sixth time for one of the most talked about riders of the weekend, namely Marc Marquez. The Gresini Racing driver kept the same medium rear tire on his GP23 until the end of the session, but still managed to post a 1’46″587. Like him, Pecco Bagnaia also used the same tire for the entire duration of the session, however closing with the ninth performance at 517 thousandths.
Ahead of the reigning world champion is also the other Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro, which this weekend shows off a livery dedicated to the Aprilia All Stars which will be on stage at Misano next Saturday. Completing the top 10, i.e. the list of riders who would currently qualify for Q2, is then completed with the other Ducati Gresini of Alex Marquez.
At the moment, therefore, Raul Fernandez’s Aprilia Trackhouse would be out by a whisker, but also the two official KTMs of Jack Miller and Brad Binder, who were not up to Acosta’s standard and finished in 12th and 14th. position. The return of wild card Pol Espargaro is not bad, as he is immediately behind them in 15th position with the RC16.
The two Ducatis of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 were also delayed, with Marco Bezzecchi 13th and Fabio Di Giannantonio 16th. Enea Bastianini, on the other hand, seems to be in difficulty, as he seems to be struggling to stop his Desmosedici GP and was unable to do better than 18th. Then in his wake is Luca Marini, who for once has taken the prize as the best Honda rider: evidently the new aerodynamic package approved for this weekend responds more to his needs. At the rear of the group we then find Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who here takes advantage of his second wild card.
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