Idemitsu Honda’s Taka Nakagami topped the timesheets in this morning’s MotoGP opening practice at Brno, heading the Suzuki of Joan Mir by 0.011s with Pol Espargaro in third place.
Nakagami used a hard rear Michelin to set a 1’57.353 to draw first blood in the blue riband class with Mir on the same option for a 1’57.364 but with a soft front compared to Nakagami’s hard.
KTM’s Espargaro set the early pace with a 1’57.392 on his fourth using a medium rear in a session where the the top 16 were covered by half a second.
Avintia’s Johann Zarco ended his morning in fourth and was the leading Ducati after Brad Binder’s time was deleted by stewards and the Frenchman was bumped up a spot.
Maverick Vinales bounced back from an early crash at turn 13 to set the fifth-fastest time, a 1’57.565 to end two-tenths off the pace. He will be hoping his engine didn’t swallow any gravel.
Andrea Dovizioso will be happy-ish to have found some pace on the works Desmosedici but not to be behind Zarco. Team-mate Danilo Petrucci finished one place further back and 0.285 off the pace compared to Dovizioso’s 0.279.
Valentino Rossi put in a late burst on the hard rear Michelin to grab eighth on a 1’57.646 with Franco Morbidelli and the still-hurting Cal Crutchlow in tenth.
Suzuki’s Alex Rins, who is also recovering from his Jerez crash, finished behind Aleix Espargaro but in front of championship leader Fabio Quartararo who put 18 laps on the same medium rear.
Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller was 14th and team-mate Pecco Bagnaia in 15th but a late crash saw him taken to the medical centre after walking to the barrier.
