Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has topped the opening MotoGP free practice session at Le Mans this morning but was chased hard by team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi who both stuck in fast laps in the final minutes.
Marquez set a 1’34.383 on his 12th lap and then went a fraction faster with his last, ending on a 1’34.328. Pedrosa just edged out Rossi with his 1’34.517 at the end of an early long run of ten laps with two in the 1’34s at the end.
The Doctor was only 0.064s behind the tiny Spaniard and using the soft tyre where the two Repsol men were on the harder option while Jorge Lorenzo, who is also using the soft tyre after his Jerez testing epiphany, was nudged down to fourth place but is only 0.017s behind his Movistar Yamaha team-mate.
Alvaro Bautista was sitting pretty in second with two minutes left, but got bumped to fifth, just ahead of his HRC stablemate Stefan Bradl on the LCR bike. The German needs to make an impression this weekend as he is at the centre of huge rumours of being replaced by Maverick Vinales next season.
Andrea Dovizioso ended as top Ducati in seventh with Pol Espargaro, Andrea Iannone and Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten.
Monster Yamaha’s Bradley Smith walked away from a fast crash at Chemin Boeuf inside the first five minutes but rallied to 11th place, one ahead of Cal Crutchlow on the second works-but-Open Ducati.
Scott Redding ended in 17th and 2.3s off the pace while Michael Laverty was 22nd.
