Alex Marquez fastest but Aleix Espargaro unable to finish FP1

Showing immediate pace, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro held a comfortable advantage early on ahead of the LCR Honda duo of Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Rins. 

Alex Marquez, who wil serve a three-place grid penalty during Sunday’s Grand Prix, then went quickest by just under a tenth from Pirro. 

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There was a big moment for Aleix Espargaro as the Aprilia rider nearly lost the front-end of his RS-GP22 with ten minutes gone. Espargaro had to pick up his machine before running into the gravel.

Still fastest, Marquez was less than happy after being blocked by a slow-moving Franco Morbidelli.

The Gresini Ducati rider came across Morbidelli between turns six and seven before waving his hands in frustration.

Espargaro’s FP1 then got worse as he was seen hobbling to the back of the team’s garage before bursting into tears.

There was no crash or apparent incident for the Aprilia rider out on circuit, however, a pre-weekend injury seemed to be the cause of his emotional breakdown.

With a doctor in the Aprilia garage in case Espargaro needed to be examined, the Spaniard then went on to crash at the final corner.

Yellow flags were deployed immediately as Espargaro was struggling to walk under his own weight.

Marquez’s time at the top finally came to an end with a third of the session to go as Pirro and Bagnaia went marginally quicker.

With his teammate ending his FP1 session early, Vinales was the man on the move as time track runs began.

The factory Aprilia rider was up by over three tenths with one sector to go before setting a stunning time of 1:48.404s.

Vinales set his time on a medium front and rear combination before Quartararo jumped up to top spot.

Quartararo was joined at the top by fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco who went second, while teammate Martin went third. 

Alex Marquez responded to put Ducati back on top, while brother Marc Marquez sneaked into the top ten after using the tow of Marco Bezzecchi.