Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso topped the opening MotoGP free practice session at Motegi today but was chased hard by Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, who ended as top Honda on the manufacturer’s own track.
Dovizioso was the only rider in the top ten to use a medium rear Michelin to set his 1’45.358 while Crutchlow was a tenth slower on a soft rear while Johann Zarco led the Yamaha contingent in third place, using a soft/soft combination to trail the LCR man by 0.020s.
But it was bad news for Jorge Lorenzo who only managed to complete one lap before his injured wrist proved too painful, with team chief Paolo Ciabatti saying the Spaniard’s weekend is over before it has begun.
Reigning and world champion-elect Marc Marquez led for a majority of the session, using a medium rear to set 1’46.010 on his second run but he didn’t have enough pace on the soft to do anything about Dovizioso and only just kept a resurgent Maverick Vinales behind him.
The works Yamaha rider opted for a new soft on his last run and set a 1’45.640 to grab fifth place. Andrea Iannone took his Ecstar Suzuki to sixth place, finishing a little less than seven-tenths off the pace with Alvaro Bautista in eighth. The Spaniard showed pace on a medium rear early on then swapped to a soft before crashing at turn one.
Jack Miller took his Pramac Ducati to eighth place with his final lap which was enough to bounce nine-time champion Valentino Rossi down to ninth place. However, the works Yamaha man only used one set of soft/medium Michelins for the session and was still inside the top ten. Aleix Espargaro bagged tenth place with his final effort on softs all round.
Dani Pedrosa took his Repsol Honda to 11th lace with Scott Redding nabbing 12th place on the Aprilia. Taka Nakagami, Pol Espargaro and Yamaha wildcard Kats Nakasuga completed the top 15.
