Former works MotoGP rider Marco Melandri just edged out reigning World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes for top spot in this morning’s opening free practice session at Jerez with the top seven covered by only half a second.

Melandri’s 1’42.768, set with 15 minutes of the period left to run, was just enough to top the Kawasaki man’s 1’42.813 while Ducati’s Chaz Davies set a very early lap of 1’42.916 before crashing unhurt at turn one with a quarter of an hour to go but it was enough to retain third place.

Davies set the early pace with his fastest lap but it only took Sykes five minutes to hit his form and go quickest with a 1’42.843 and then he set his quickest before Melandri took control by 0.045s.

Melandri and Sykes are level in terms of pace with a couple of laps in the high 42s while Davies is the dark horse. His first two flying laps were in the 42s with his fourth on the cusp at 1’43.009 but the crash on lap nine put paid to any further meaningful action.

Toni Elias, like Melandri, has done a squillion laps of Jerez in his MotoGP days, bagged fourth place with his 1’43.136 while title contender Sylvain Guintoli was sixth on a 1’43.174, set relatively late, and just behind compatriot Loris Baz. Davies’ team-mate Davide Guigliano was only 0.018s behind the works Kawasaki.

Voltcom Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty was the next of Brits in eighth place with Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam, both Pata Honda, completing the top ten. Rea missed the opening ten minutes but still chucked in 12 laps with a best of 1’43.443 with Haslam two-tenths further back and nine-tenths off the pace.

Alex Lowes, who is now fully recovered from his Laguna Seca crash, was 11th and just ahead of top Evo runner Sylvain Barrier on the BMW Italia S1000RR. David Salom was 13th, Nico Canepa 14th and Andreozzi rounded out the top 15.

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