Vinales pips Rossi for FP1 top spot as KTM impresses again

 Maverick Vinales heads up Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi in FP1 for the Andalucia MotoGP; Alex Rins, Cal Crutchlow struggle at back
Vinales pips Rossi for FP1 top spot as KTM impresses again

2020 Andalucia MotoGP - Free Practice Results (1)

Maverick Vinales has opened up top with the fastest time in first free practice for the Andalucia MotoGP as the riders hit the ground running in Jerez for the second weekend in succession.

The Spaniard left his quickest lap until the final time of asking, crossing the line with a 1m 37.063 – just over three tenths down on Fabio Quartararo’s record-breaking pole-winning time from last weekend – to head up a Yamaha 1-2 over Valentino Rossi.

The first time Rossi has featured at the sharp end of the times in Spain, he will take heart from his 1m 37.205s lap being half a second quicker than the time he managed in Q2 six days ago.

Another impressive session for KTM in the cooler conditions of Friday morning, Brad Binder pumped in the third quickest lap on the factory RC16, his efforts consolidated by team-mate Pol Espargaro in fifth position, while Tech 3’s Miguel Oliveira made it three KTMs in the top six in sixth position.

Franco Morbidelli split the team-mates in fourth on the Petronas SRT Yamaha, with Jack Miller top Ducati rider in seventh, while Takaaki Nakagami led the depleted Honda challenge in seventh on his year-old RC213V and Aleix Espargaro brought his Aprilia up into eighth.

Early championship leader Fabio Quartararo maintained a lower profile down in 13th position on the Petronas SRT Yamaha in a session of no fallers, though Pecco Bagnaia came close to an incident with Alex Marquez as they connected in the final bend as he was attempted to slip up the inside.

Joan Mir was top Suzuki rider in 11th, though there may be concerns for his team-mate Alex Rins – returning to action from injury this weekend – after he emerged bottom of the pile having completed 8 laps at 3.1secs off the ultimate pace.

Similarly, Cal Crutchlow was down the order in 20th as he tempered his track time with giving his operated-on wrist its first run on a bike since surgery on Tuesday, though he did complete more laps.

Marc Marquez has opted to sit out Friday’s action as he rests his fractured arm but plans to return on Saturday for FP3.

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