Aragon MotoGP, MotorLand - Free Practice (1) Results

* Rookie

Official Aragon MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 46.322s (2020)
Fastest race lap:
Franco Morbidelli ITA Yamaha 1m 48.089s (2020)

Aleix Espargaro set the pace during opening practice for the 2022 Aragon MotoGP, the Aprilia rider remaining on top of the timesheets - ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Rins - despite a fall.

Marc Marquez finished 11th during his first practice session since Mugello in May. The Repsol Honda star completed 18 laps, the best of which was 0.521s behind Espargaro.

Bagnaia, winner of the last four races as well as last year's Aragon round, plus fellow title contender Espargaro exchanged the top spot from the start of the session.

The #41 was just 0.012s ahead of the Italian as the second half of the session began, then suffered a fast fall at the end of the back straight. The Spaniard - who fractured his heel at Silverstone and broke a little finger at the Misano test - limped back to his Aprilia and was able to get the damaged RS-GP to the pits.

Espargaro, whose team-mate Maverick Vinales pitted and called his mechanics over to fix some kind of problem on the way to 15th, then pulled off-track due to some kind of holeshot device issue in the practice start zone after the chequered flag.

World championship leader Fabio Quartararo didn't feature at the front and slipped to ninth before a cancelled lap for KTM's Brad Binder moved him to eighth (+0.399s).

Quartararo, who like team-mate Franco Morbidelli tried the new Yamaha chassis (seen at the Misano test) this morning, expects Aragon's low grip and long straight to provide his toughest challenge of the remaining rounds.

Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow, stepping in at RNF for the final six rounds following the retirement of Andrea Dovizioso, and Suzuki's Joan Mir, returning from ankle injuries at the Red Bull Ring, were 16th (+0.706s) and 17th (+0.761s) respectively. Mir saved a near highside on the exit of Turn 7 early in FP1.

The soft rear tyre, picked by all riders for last season's Aragon race, has become the medium option for this weekend and was again the overwhelming choice this morning.

Francesco Bagnaia is seeking a 5th win in a row this weekend, as he returns to the scene of his debut MotoGP victory at Aragon last season.

But the big news is that Marc Marquez, the rider Bagnaia narrowly beat one year ago, will be returning to race action for the first time since Mugello in May, after which he underwent a fourth operation to improve mobility and reduce pain in his beleaguered right arm.

Reigning champion and title leader Fabio Quartararo faces what has proven to be one of his toughest circuits - a best of fifth in 2019 and only eighth last year - with a reduced 30-point lead over Bagnaia.

Aleix Espargaro – now pushed to third in the standings by Bagnaia’s rise - could be another one to watch, with Aragon traditionally one of his best events of the season on the Aprilia.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales is also on red-hot form, with RS-GP podiums in three of the last four rounds.

After missing Misano due to ankle injuries from Austria, Joan Mir rejoins Alex Rins at Suzuki.

With Andrea Dovizioso hanging up his leathers after Misano, triple MotoGP race winner and current Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow is taking over the RNF seat for the final six rounds of this season.

MotoGP Aragon weekend schedule (UK time)

Friday September 16

8am - Moto3 FP1

8.55am - MotoGP FP1

9.55am - Moto2 FP1

12.15pm - Moto3 FP2

1.10pm - MotoGP FP2

2.10pm - Moto2 FP2

Saturday September 17

8am - Moto3 FP3

8.55am - MotoGP FP3

9.55am - Moto2 FP3

11.35am - Moto3 Q1

12pm - Moto3 Q2

12.30pm - MotoGP FP4

1.10pm - MotoGP Q1

1.35pm - MotoGP Q2

2.10pm - Moto2 Q1

2.35pm - Moto2 Q2

Sunday September 18

8am - Moto3 warm-up

8.20am - Moto2 warm-up

8.40am - MotoGP warm-up

10am - Moto3 race

11.20am - Moto2 race

1pm - MotoGP race