Marc Marquez tops MotoGP Valencia testing after crashing
Marc Marquez set the pace on the first day of MotoGP post-season testing at Valencia despite being one of several riders to crash on the new Michelin tyres
Marquez fell at Turn 3 inside the first hour of running, on what was just his fourth lap of the day, but he returned to set a 1m31.551s, ending the day fastest.
Ducati's Andrea Iannone was second quickest, 0.088 seconds down, but he had a similar crash to Marquez at the same part of the track in the closing stages.
Marquez's Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was third ahead of Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales and newly-crowned champion Jorge Lorenzo.
Cal Crutchlow and the Espargaro brothers Pol and Aleix were three more to crash, taking the sixth, seventh and ninth best times respectively with Bradley Smith eighth.
Valentino Rossi, having expressed concerns about the Michelin tyres not suiting the Yamaha, was 12th behind Scott Redding, who was one of a number of riders to test with their 2016 teams.
The Briton joined up with the Pramac Ducati squad, with his predecessor Yonny Hernandez in action for Aspar where he and Eugene Laverty are riding Ducatis after a swap from Honda.
Redding's old team Marc VDS ran its new pairing of Jack Miller and Moto2 graduate Tito Rabat, who took 15th and 16th on the times.
DAY ONE TIMES
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1m31.551s | - | 47 |
| 2 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | 1m31.639s | 0.088s | 61 |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1m31.681s | 0.130s | 49 |
| 4 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | 1m31.720s | 0.169s | 59 |
| 5 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 1m31.767s | 0.216s | 41 |
| 6 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | 1m31.911s | 0.360s | 54 |
| 7 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | 1m31.937s | 0.386s | 40 |
| 8 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | 1m31.997s | 0.446s | 67 |
| 9 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | 1m32.005s | 0.454s | 47 |
| 10 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1m32.073s | 0.522s | 66 |
| 11 | Scott Redding | Pramac Racing | 1m32.214s | 0.663s | 52 |
| 12 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1m32.401s | 0.850s | 57 |
| 13 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | 1m32.442s | 0.891s | 47 |
| 14 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | 1m32.468s | 0.917s | 38 |
| 15 | Jack Miller | Marc VDS | 1m32.594s | 1.043s | 47 |
| 16 | Tito Rabat | Marc VDS | 1m32.673s | 1.122s | 84 |
| 17 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | 1m32.721s | 1.170s | 46 |
| 18 | Loris Baz | Avintia Racing | 1m32.943s | 1.392s | 53 |
| 19 | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar | 1m33.046s | 1.495s | 57 |
| 20 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | 1m33.061s | 1.510s | 66 |
| 21 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | 1m33.253s | 1.702s | 46 |
| 22 | Takuya Tsuda | Suzuki | 1m34.591s | 3.040s | 55 |
| 23 | Nobuatsu Aoki | Suzuki | 1m36.338s | 4.787s | 24 |
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