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Malaysia MotoGP: Honda's Marquez leads Suzuki's Vinales in FP1

MotoGP champion Marc Marquez led the way in first practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang

The Honda rider was at the top of the order for the majority of the 45 minutes, and set his 2m01.210s after the chequered flag to lead Suzuki's Maverick Vinales by 0.268 seconds.

Times improved throughout the session on a circuit that has been resurfaced and had several corners reprofiled since the field - other than Cal Crutchlow - last visited for pre-season testing in February.

Overnight rain meant it also took time for the track surface to grip up, and for several damp patches to dry.

With 10 minutes to go, Vinales was on top with a time of 2m01.729s, with the first flying laps having been in the 2m07s and 2m06s range.

Marquez took the benchmark into the 2m04s and then 2m03s, with Vinales then the first to reach 2m02s, 15 minutes in.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Crutchlow also spent time at the top of the order, during riders' second runs, before Marquez set a time of 2m01.900s and then Vinales a 2m01.729s.

With three minutes go to, Marquez moved back to the top with a 2m01.382s lap, and after improving fractionally the next time around, he set his 2m01.210s after the chequered flag was shown.

Marquez's effort was 0.798s slower than the best time of FP1 in 2015, set by his Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who is still out injured with his broken collarbone.

After being shuffled down several places, Vinales moved back up to second on his final lap, while Pramac Ducati's Scott Redding improved with each of his last two laps to end the session third fastest, 0.297s slower than Marquez.

Ducati's Andrea Iannone was fourth on his return from the fractured vertebra he sustained at Misano last month.

Rossi was fifth, with his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo 10th, the Spaniard threatening to move up the order on his final lap before making a mistake in the second sector.

Back with Avintia Ducati after deputising for Iannone, Hector Barbera finished sixth, ahead of Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro, Aspar Ducati's Hector Barbera and Aprilia's Alvaro Bautista.

Australian Grand Prix winner Crutchlow wound up 13th on his LCR Honda, two spots ahead of Iannone's team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, while Marc VDS Honda's Jack Miller was 16th and the only rider to fall, at the final corner after the chequered flag was shown.

FIRST PRACTICE RESULTS:

Pos Rider Team Time Gap Laps
1 Marc Marquez Honda 2m01.210s - 16
2 Maverick Vinales Suzuki 2m01.478s 0.268s 16
3 Scott Redding Pramac Ducati 2m01.507s 0.297s 17
4 Andrea Iannone Ducati 2m01.521s 0.311s 17
5 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 2m01.611s 0.401s 18
6 Hector Barbera Avintia Ducati 2m01.667s 0.457s 14
7 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki 2m01.774s 0.564s 16
8 Yonny Hernandez Aspar Ducati 2m01.815s 0.605s 17
9 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 2m02.011s 0.801s 17
10 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 2m02.013s 0.803s 17
11 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Ducati 2m02.036s 0.826s 18
12 Stefan Bradl Aprilia 2m02.164s 0.954s 16
13 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 2m02.334s 1.124s 17
14 Bradley Smith Tech3 Yamaha 2m02.484s 1.274s 17
15 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 2m02.561s 1.351s 15
16 Jack Miller Marc VDS Honda 2m02.600s 1.390s 13
17 Pol Espargaro Tech3 Yamaha 2m02.732s 1.522s 16
18 Eugene Laverty Aspar Ducati 2m03.013s 1.803s 16
19 Tito Rabat Marc VDS Honda 2m03.108s 1.898s 20
20 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 2m03.901s 2.691s 18
21 Loris Baz Avintia Ducati 2m04.623s 3.413s 15

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