Dovizioso edges Lorenzo as Ducati dominate in Austria

Full MotoGP FP1 results from Austria here

Andrea Dovizioso pinched top spot from Ducati team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as the Italian manufacturer took control in the dry opening practice session in Spielberg.

Dovizioso edges Lorenzo as Ducati dominate in Austria

Full MotoGP FP1 results from Austria here

Andrea Dovizioso pinched top spot from Ducati team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as the Italian manufacturer took control in the dry opening practice session in Spielberg.

With the weather forecast threatening rain for the remainder of the Austria MotoGP race weekend, the majority of riders hunted quick late laps to secure a top 10 spot in potentially the best track conditions.

While Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez led the early stages before the qualifying-style runs, the Ducati riders took charge with Dovizioso initially taking top spot with a 1m 24.245s. The Italian’s team-mate Lorenzo responded by going two-tenths quicker with his best effort but Dovizioso struck back with his final lap of 1m 23.830s to set the pace.

With Lorenzo in second, Pramac Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci was another late improver to take third place ahead of Marquez while Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone impressed to take fifth place with his final lap.

Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda edged out Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) for sixth place by 0.017s with Tito Rabat continuing to impress with his free practice pace to move up to eighth place on the Avintia Ducati.

Johann Zarco led the Yamaha charge for the satellite Tech 3 squad, with the Japanese manufacturer bracing for a tough round at the Red Bull Ring, which shuffled Maverick Vinales into the final provisional Q2 spot.

That meant fellow Movistar Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi missed out on the top 10, 0.049s off team-mate Vinales.

Rossi had been recovering from a mechanical nightmare at the start of the opening session when he was forced off track after five minutes with a broken rear sprocket. Fortunately for the Italian, he was able to return to action 10 minutes later on his second bike to take part in the flurry of fast laps at the end of the session with rain forecasted to threaten the remainder of the race weekend.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro followed in 12th place ahead of Angel Nieto Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista and Alex Rins on the Suzuki.

Bradley Smith is the sole Red Bull KTM rider at the team’s home race following the spine injury Pol Espargaro suffered in Brno, with test rider Mika Kallio also missing through injury sustained at Sachsenring last month, but the British rider grabbed a top 15 place at the end of FP1.

Read More