Johann Zarco takes the top spot on Day 1, ahead of fellow Frenchman Fabio Quartararo.

With a damp FP1 leading the way, all riders were eager to make the most of a dry Free Practice 2 session.

In FP1, it was Jack Miller who lead the morning charge. The Jerez victor took the top spot ahead of Zarco and Joan Mir, with a time of 1:38.007. However, the faster times of the second session could be the ones to determine the progression of qualifying, as we’re set for more wet weather in FP3 tomorrow morning. 

FP2 saw the pack improve on times by approximately 8 seconds, with Zarco’s time of 1:31.747 being just 0.095s ahead of Quartararo. In third was Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales, who moved up the order from 12^th place.

Pol Espargaro remained in P4 at the end of today, the Repsol Honda Team rider ended Free Practice 2 just 0.001s shy of Viñales.

The Petronas Yamaha SRT pair both ended Day 1 inside of the Top 10, with Franco Morbidelli taking 5^th place and Valentino Rossi taking 9^th. This could be critical for the duo’s qualifying results, as we hope this form continues after an unlucky start to 2021.

Miguel Oliveira currently resides in P6, as the Portuguese rider is the only KTM within the Top 10, with Iker Lecuona being the next in 15^th, while Oliveira’s teammate Brad Binder sits outside of the Top 15 in 16^th place.

While flying through FP1, Jack Miller ends today in 7^th, as teammate and title leader Francesco Bagnaia resides in P12.

Marc Marquez had a decent first day, ending FP1 in 5^th, and finishing Day 1 in P8.

Takaaki Nakagami rounds out the Top 10, improving on his Free Practice 1 result of 15^th place. Teammate Alex Marquez currently resides in P17.

The Team Suzuki ECSTAR men are nowhere to be seen inside of the Top 10, as Alex Rins and Joan Mir end today in P11 and P13, respectively, despite Mir’s P3 result in the first session. Aleix Espargaro follows closely behind Mir in 14^th, just 0.038s behind the champ. Teammate Lorenzo Savadori sits in P20 on the combined timesheets.

Tito Rabat finished in an admirable 18^th at the end of today, as the replacement of Jorge Martin continues to learn the Pramac machine, any improvement is still an improvement for the Spaniard.

The Avintia pair need to see further improvements tomorrow if they want to make a dent in Sunday’s race, as Enea Bastianini currently resides in 19^th, while Luca Marini sits in P21. Danilo Petrucci rounds out the grid in P22.

While the damp made the FP1 times somewhat unaccountable in the run towards qualifying, it could prove to be good practice for the sessions ahead. Can Zarco master the elements tomorrow as well? 

Free Practice 3 begins tomorrow at 09:55 Local Time (GMT +2).

Feature Image: MotoGP.com