Mugello MotoGP: Marquez leads Rossi in first practice

The runaway points leader remained under the radar for much of the session before vaulting up the order in the dying moments with a time of 1m48.004s to demote erstwhile leader Valentino Rossi, who celebrates his 300th grand prix this weekend.

The Italian veteran finished 0.382 seconds behind on his Yamaha when the chequered flag fell, with Andrea Iannone emerging third quickest after having the most productive morning with 21 laps under his belt.

Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo were fourth and fifth respectively, with Dovizioso having led for much of the first half of the session.

Aleix Espargaro took Open class honors with a time of 1m48.743s on his NGM Yamaha and was a slender 0.078s from deposing Lorenzo for fifth towards the finish.

There were a trio of off-track moments at San Donato during the session involving Pol Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista.

The 2013 Moto2 champion lost his Tech 3 Yamaha twice at the first corner, with the second proving the most costly halfway through the session when he took a tumble through the gravel and destroyed his bike.

Unscathed from his off, Espargaro resumed running on his back-up machine and finished 1.304s off the ultimate pace in 12th.

Bautista also took a trip through the gravel with five minutes remaining to bring an end to his session, although his Gresini Honda came off lightly in comparison to Espargaro's off.

Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is a wild card entrant this weekend, and he finished in 14th position on the team's development bike.

Danilo Petrucci was due to make his return to MotoGP action today after suffering from a wrist injury which resulted in his omission from the previous two grands prix.

His comeback has been delayed, however, after he failed a medical examination and the Ioda Racing rider will sit on the sidelines once again this weekend.

Follow the Mugello MotoGP qualifying day on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live on Saturday morning from 12:30pm UK time

Pos Rider             Bike                  Time       Gap     Laps
 1. Marc Marquez      Honda                 1m48.004s           19
 2. Valentino Rossi   Yamaha                1m48.386s  +0.382s  17
 3. Andrea Iannone    Pramac Ducati         1m48.434s  +0.430s  21
 4. Andrea Dovizioso  Ducati                1m48.518s  +0.514s  17
 5. Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha                1m48.665s  +0.661s  17
 6. Aleix Espargaro   Forward Yamaha        1m48.743s  +0.739s  14
 7. Cal Crutchlow     Ducati                1m48.925s  +0.921s  20
 8. Stefan Bradl      LCR Honda             1m48.980s  +0.976s  19
 9. Alvaro Bautista   Gresini Honda         1m49.030s  +1.026s  13
10. Bradley Smith     Tech 3 Yamaha         1m49.030s  +1.026s  20
11. Dani Pedrosa      Honda                 1m49.203s  +1.199s  18
12. Pol Espargaro     Tech 3 Yamaha         1m49.308s  +1.304s  18
13. Colin Edwards     Forward Yamaha        1m49.818s  +1.814s  18
14. Michele Pirro     Ducati                1m50.030s  +2.026s  14
15. Hiroshi Aoyama    Aspar Honda           1m50.143s  +2.139s  20
16. Yonny Hernandez   Pramac Ducati         1m50.189s  +2.185s  15
17. Karel Abraham     Cardion Honda         1m50.327s  +2.323s  16
18. Scott Redding     Gresini Honda         1m50.440s  +2.436s  17
19. Hector Barbera    Avintia FTR-Kawasaki  1m51.396s  +3.392s  15
20. Mike di Meglio    Avintia FTR-Kawasaki  1m52.164s  +4.160s  15
21. Michael Laverty   PBM Aprilia           1m52.748s  +4.744s  18
22. Broc Parkes       PBM Aprilia           1m53.775s  +5.771s  16
23. Nicky Hayden      Aspar Honda           1m55.369s  +7.365s   6