Quartararo on top Friday at Motegi

Fabio Quartararo
Fabio Quartararo

Cool conditions on Friday at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit didn’t deter the local fans who filtered into the track from early in the morning.

A track temperature of 21°C kept riders some distance from the outright lap record in Japan but potential rain on Saturday meant they still had to push hard for a Q2 spot in the closing moments of Free Practice 2.

After finishing behind his fellow Yamaha rider in FP1, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) ousted Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in FP2 to lead the way on Friday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan with a 1:44.764. 2019 World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) completed the top three on the opening day of action.

Friday Practice Results

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 1'44.764
2 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.321
3 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.336
4 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0.650
5 Rossi Valentino 46 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.702
6 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 0.798
7 Miller Jack 43 AUS Pramac Racing Ducati 0.813
8 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0.855
9 Mir Joan 36 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.877
10 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 0.957
11 Rins Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.966
12 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda Honda 1.040
13 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.256
14 Bagnaia Francesco 63 ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1.566
15 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1.793
16 Abraham Karel 17 CZE Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 1.812
17 Lorenzo Jorge 99 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.897
18 Iannone Andrea 29 ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1.981
19 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 2.036
20 Guintoli Sylvain 50 FRA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 2.039
21 Kallio Mika 82 FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 2.134
22 Rabat Tito 53 SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 2.394
23 Syahrin Hafizh 55 MAL Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 3.210