Misano MotoGP: Marquez leads Pedrosa in first practice

MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez set the pace in Friday morning’s opening practice session for the GP Aperol di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini. The 20-year-old led Repsol Honda Team colleague Dani Pedrosa, while Yamaha Factory Racing filled positions three and four with new seamless transmission on-board.

Having won the Moto2 race at Misano last year, Marquez threw down the Friday morning gauntlet with a best lap time of 1’34.476. As the sun shone, Pedrosa recovered from early bike vibrations to move to within a quarter of a second of Marquez, while Jorge Lorenzo pipped Valentino Rossi by 76 thousandths; incidentally, Misano marks a critical weekend for the Yamaha pairing as they hope their seamless system will move them closer to the pace-setting Hondas.

Results