Emilia Romagna MotoGP, Misano - Free Practice (1) Results
Johann Zarco returns to the top by leading a wet opening practice session for MotoGP's return to Misano at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, while fellow Ducati rider and title contender Francesco Bagnaia suffered a late fall.
Jack Miller led for the majority of the session ahead of factory team-mate Bagnaia, with Zarco moving to the top with seven minutes remaining.
The Pramac Ducati rider, who has struggled to repeat his early season podium run and recently underwent arm pump surgery, improved his time further to pull a big 1.4s clear of nearest rival Marc Marquez, who popped ahead of Miller on his final lap.
Late improvements also moved Jorge Martin and Franco Morbidelli to fourth and fifth, ahead of Bagnaia, who had lowsided at the end of the back straight.
World championship leader Fabio Quartararo may have stayed upright but the Frenchman's Yamaha again looked twitchy in the wet on his way to 18th place, 3.1s behind Zarco.
Quartararo has his first chance to win the MotoGP title this weekend, providing he can keep his 52-point lead over Bagnaia to at least 50-points on Sunday.
There were early accidents for Alex Marquez and Brad Binder, plus a technical issue in the pits for Aleix Espargaro, who had been fastest at the Misano post-race test.
Local hero Valentino Rossi is competing in his final Italian round before retirement.
Bagnaia won last month's first Misano round, ahead of Quartararo and Enea Bastianini.
The tyre allocation will be the same for this weekend, but temperatures are cooler and more rain is expected throughout Friday.
| Emilia Romagna MotoGP, Misano - Free Practice (1) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | 1'42.374s | 19/19 | 295k |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.417s | 20/20 | 291k |
| 3 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Team (GP21) | +1.625s | 6/15 | 292k |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21)* | +1.667s | 19/19 | 293k |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.680s | 13/13 | 283k |
| 6 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | +1.809s | 17/17 | 290k |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.869s | 20/20 | 289k |
| 8 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.950s | 17/17 | 286k |
| 9 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +2.031s | 16/18 | 283k |
| 10 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +2.139s | 16/18 | 289k |
| 11 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +2.201s | 15/17 | 288k |
| 12 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +2.377s | 14/14 | 284k |
| 13 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | +2.514s | 13/13 | 285k |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +2.637s | 18/18 | 289k |
| 15 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +2.830s | 19/19 | 289k |
| 16 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +2.847s | 18/20 | 288k |
| 17 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +3.071s | 16/19 | 293k |
| 18 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +3.103s | 20/20 | 283k |
| 19 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | +3.282s | 15/15 | 288k |
| 20 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Ducati (GP19)* | +3.479s | 13/15 | 286k |
| 21 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +3.507s | 16/16 | 284k |
| 22 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +3.672s | 18/18 | 287k |
| 23 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +3.778s | 14/14 | 278k |
| 24 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | +4.592s | 5/12 | 282k |
* Rookie
Official Misano MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Maverick Vinales SPA Yamaha 1m 31.007s (2020)
Fastest race lap:
Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati 1m 32.242s(2021)
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.
