Jerez MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro fastest for Forward in practice one
Aleix Espargaro posted the quickest time in opening MotoGP practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez
The Forward Yamaha rider continued to shine on his Open class bike, setting the pace with a 1m39.357s.
The Spaniard used Bridgestone's softest tyre to outpace double champion Jorge Lorenzo, who was over three tenths slower on the works Yamaha.
World champion and current championship leader Marc Marquez was third quickest, albeit nearly half a second behind Espargaro.
Marquez's Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi completed the top five.
Ducati's Cal Crutchlow returned to action following his hand injury and reported no problems during the session, meaning he is likely to continue riding during the weekend. The Briton finished down in 18th position.
That most significant incident of the session took place with less than five minutes to go, when Andrea Iannone crashed his Pramac Ducati at the first corner. He walked away seemingly unscathed.
Folllow all the action from MotoGP race day at Jerez with AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live on Sunday. Coverage starts from Moto3 and Moto2 from 10am UK time
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Aleix Espargaro Forward Yamaha 1m39.357s 2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m39.714s +0.357s 3. Marc Marquez Honda 1m39.849s +0.492s 4. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m39.860s +0.503s 5. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m40.167s +0.810s 6. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda 1m40.560s +1.203s 7. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1m40.619s +1.262s 8. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 1m40.644s +1.287s 9. Yonny Hernandez PramacDucati 1m40.686s +1.329s 10. Bradley Smith Tech 3 Yamaha 1m40.758s +1.401s 11. Nicky Hayden Aspar Honda 1m40.846s +1.489s 12. Andrea Iannone Pramac Ducati 1m40.879s +1.522s 13. Michele Pirro Ducati 1m40.924s +1.567s 14. Hector Barbera Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m40.928s +1.571s 15. Pol Espargaro Tech 3 Yamaha 1m41.002s +1.645s 16. Hiroshi Aoyama Aspar Honda 1m41.183s +1.826s 17. Colin Edwards Forward Yamaha 1m41.252s +1.895s 18. Cal Crutchlow Ducati 1m41.364s +2.007s 19. Scott Redding Gresini Honda 1m41.374s +2.017s 20. Karel Abraham Cardion Honda 1m41.578s +2.221s 21. Broc Parkes PBM Aprilia 1m42.171s +2.814s 22. Danilo Petrucci Ioda Aprilia 1m42.188s +2.831s 23. Mike di Meglio Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m42.346s +2.989s 24. Michael Laverty PBM Aprilia 1m43.015s +3.658s
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