Styrian MotoGP, Austria - Free Practice (1) Results
Update: No fractures for Miguel Oliveira after medical checks.
Nasty fall this morning for Miguel Oliveira #MotoGP #StyrianGP pic.twitter.com/2BbUBZsLqx
— CRASH.NET/MotoGP (@crash_motogp) August 6, 2021
A late flying lap by Nakagami puts the LCR Honda rider on top of opening practice for the Styrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Reigning world champion Mir had led for the majority of the session. The Suzuki rider is hoping to get the green light to use the factory's long awaited rear ride-height device sometime during the pair of Austrian events, but looked to be without the system on his GSX-RR this morning.
Dani Pedrosa, who retired from MotoGP at the end of 2018, is returning to action this weekend as a wild-card entry for KTM, where he is employed as an official test rider. Pedrosa won 31 races during his premier-class career, spent entirely with Honda.
Pedrosa was forced to park his RC16 (a similar spec to the other KTMs) due to a technical problem halfway through the session, but retained eleventh place as the top KTM rider.
Factory star Miguel Oliveira suffered a highside out of turn 3 moments after Pedrosa's technical issue, leaving the Portuguese in clear discomfort as he sat for several minutes at the side of the track. Although he returned to the pits, Oliveira was sent for medical checks after the session. Lecuona was another KTM faller, without harm.
Cal Crutchlow is also back in MotoGP, for the next three rounds, as a replacement for the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha. A three time MotoGP race winner, Crutchlow signed up as Yamaha's official test rider after retiring from MotoGP at the end of last season.
Valentino Rossi announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021 season.
The back-to-back Austrian events will be the first since the start of the Covid pandemic without special restrictions in place for spectator numbers.
| Styrian MotoGP, Austria - Free Practice (1) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1'23.805s | 22/22 | 312k |
| 2 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.076s | 21/22 | 310k |
| 3 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +0.378s | 20/22 | 309k |
| 4 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.416s | 22/23 | 308k |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.449s | 22/22 | 316k |
| 6 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.670s | 14/24 | 314k |
| 7 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.687s | 19/25 | 310k |
| 8 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.775s | 7/26 | 308k |
| 9 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | +0.775s | 22/22 | 315k |
| 10 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) | +1.022s | 21/21 | 316k |
| 11 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.045s | 20/21 | 308k |
| 12 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | +1.110s | 20/26 | 313k |
| 13 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +1.154s | 8/23 | 313k |
| 14 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.402s | 20/22 | 309k |
| 15 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.433s | 12/14 | 311k |
| 16 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.459s | 15/22 | 308k |
| 17 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | +1.511s | 22/22 | 316k |
| 18 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.512s | 13/22 | 313k |
| 19 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.604s | 8/20 | 304k |
| 20 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.694s | 19/20 | 309k |
| 21 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +1.780s | 9/21 | 313k |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | +1.988s | 18/21 | 306k |
| 23 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +2.285s | 12/20 | 307k |
* Rookie
Official Red Bull Ring MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 23.027s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati 1m 23.827s (2019)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
