Fabio Quartararo came out on top in Friday’s first free practice session at the San Marino MotoGP, posting a time of 1min 32.313sec to lead the way.
Reigning world champion Quartararo had already been ahead of the pack with seven minutes remaining of the weekend’s opening practice session when he hit his best time on the final lap at the Misano circuit.
The Frenchman, who also leads the championship standings for Yamaha, finished 0.224sec ahead of Ducati’s Jack Miller, with Michele Pirro finishing an impressive third at 0.380sec.
Aleix Espargaro sits second in the overall standings, trailing Quartararo by 32 points, and finished fourth in the practice run, 0.385sec off the pace.
Back in sixth was Francesco Bagnaia, who has won the last three GPs and is hoping to close the 44-point gap between him and Quartararo on home turf.
Ducati rider Bagnaia, 25, was 0.439sec back from his title rival and will want to improve his time in the second practice session on Friday afternoon.
