Reigning MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo took the lead edging off Ducati’s Jack Miller and Michele Pirro in the first practice of the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.
The Frenchman used just one pair of medium compound rubber for the duration of FP1 as he tried to fine-tune his M1 for Sunday’s race. The Yamaha rider was one of several riders to seize control of the test over the 45 minutes.
Quartararo put up three laps good for first place in the middle stages before being passed by Pirro and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales. Quartararo then threw in a couple more flyers at the very end to win the opening session with a 1:32.313s.
Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini finished seventh on the Desmosedici ahead of Suzuki’s Alex Rins. VR46’s Luca Marini and Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco rounded out the top ten.
Brad Binder was the fastest KTM rider in 12th overall, barely behind Pol Espargaro, who was the highest-classified Honda rider in 11th, less than eight tenths off Quartararo’s benchmark.
In what is expected to be his final FP1 practice in the MotoGP, Andrea Dovizioso was down in 16th, barely behind Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez of LCR Honda, who was the last rider to be within a second of Quartararo.
Having never tested the GSX-RR before getting on the track this morning, Kazuki Watanabe, the Suzuki driver who will replace Joan Mir, faces a formidable challenge this weekend.
The Japanese driver completed 23 laps to finish 25th and last overall, 4.9 seconds behind the leading Yamaha and 2.4 seconds behind 24th-place Darryn Binder.
SAN MARINO MOTOGP, MISANO – FREE PRACTICE (1) RESULTS
| POS | RIDER | NAT | TEAM | TIME/DIFF | LAP | MAX |
| 1 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1’32.313s | 23/23 | 297k |
| 2 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.224s | 18/23 | 301k |
| 3 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Aruba.it Racing (GP22) | +0.380s | 15/19 | 301k |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.385s | 18/18 | 298k |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.393s | 16/20 | 299k |
| 6 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.439s | 20/21 | 300k |
| 7 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | +0.525s | 18/19 | 301k |
| 8 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.545s | 21/22 | 298k |
| 9 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.668s | 20/20 | 298k |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +0.686s | 18/21 | 298k |
| 11 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.792s | 18/21 | 298k |
| 12 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.894s | 24/24 | 297k |
| 13 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | +0.905s | 21/21 | 300k |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.940s | 21/22 | 298k |
| 15 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +1.001s | 14/19 | 296k |
| 16 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | +1.122s | 17/20 | 297k |
| 17 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.249s | 13/24 | 293k |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.323s | 8/21 | 298k |
| 19 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.374s | 20/21 | 298k |
| 20 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +1.517s | 18/21 | 298k |
| 21 | Stefan Bradl | GER | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +1.542s | 13/20 | 297k |
| 22 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21)* | +1.584s | 12/20 | 298k |
| 23 | Remy Gardner | AUS | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.852s | 14/18 | 293k |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | +2.523s | 12/18 | 294k |
| 25 | Kazuki Watanabe | JPN | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +4.981s | 23/23 | 292k |
