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Petrucci fastest as rain mars start of Phillip Island MotoGP test

Pramac Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci led a rain-marred opening day of MotoGP's second pre-season test at Phillip Island

No rider ventured onto the circuit during the first hour due to wet conditions, and rain showers continued to come and go during the day.

It resulted in ruined programmes and limited opportunities for meaningful dry-weather running.

The key themes to watch during the Phillip Island test

Cal Crutchlow led the way initially with a 1m39.168s lap, more than 10 seconds off Marc Marquez's lap record, before Marquez sliced nearly four seconds from the Brit's benchmark on Michelin's intermediate tyre just after the halfway mark.

Showers duly returned, and cleared briefly with one hour to go, when Petrucci moved to the top, with consecutive 1m34.085s and 1m32.769s laps on his first run to lead team-mate Scott Redding.

After another brief shower, Petrucci - who led a day of the Sepang test - made further inroads inside the final 15 minutes, ultimately finishing the day on top with a best time of 1m31.765s.

Suzuki's Maverick Vinales also capitalised on the drier circuit to jump up to second with a 1m32.483s lap, 0.719 seconds behind Petrucci, just ahead of Tech3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith.

Redding finished the day fourth and was the busiest man, logging 33 laps, with Crutchlow ultimately fifth.

Valentino Rossi was the best of the four factory Yamaha and Honda riders in sixth, 1.324s behind Petrucci, with Marquez 12th on his 23rd birthday.

Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa finished 16th and 17th without setting a time in the relative dry, while Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso did not log a timed lap.

Australian Jack Miller returned from injury after missing the Sepang test and set the ninth-fastest time during his six laps, with Marc VDS team-mate and Tito Rabat 11th.

TEST TIMES:

Pos Rider Team Bike Time Gap Laps
1 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Racing Ducati 1m31.764s - 12
2 Maverick Vinales Suzuki Suzuki 1m32.483s 0.719s 20
3 Bradley Smith Tech 3 Yamaha 1m32.590s 0.826s 27
4 Scott Redding Pramac Racing Ducati 1m32.864s 1.100s 41
5 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 1m32.948s 1.184s 21
6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Yamaha 1m33.088s 1.324s 27
7 Pol Espargaro Tech 3 Yamaha 1m33.126s 1.362s 20
8 Yonny Hernandez Aspar Ducati 1m33.841s 2.077s 6
9 Jack Miller Marc VDS Honda 1m33.992s 2.228s 6
10 Andrea Iannone Ducati Ducati 1m34.049s 2.285s 9
11 Tito Rabat Marc VDS Honda 1m35.273s 3.509s 29
12 Marc Marquez Honda Honda 1m35.354s 3.590s 20
13 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki Suzuki 1m35.584s 3.820s 2
14 Eugene Laverty Aspar Ducati 1m35.679s 3.915s 10
15 Takuya Tsuda Suzuki Suzuki 1m36.166s 4.402s 6
16 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Yamaha 1m39.825s 8.061s 24
17 Dani Pedrosa Honda Honda 1m40.138s 8.374s 15
18 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati - - 0


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