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Marquez demolishes MotoGP field by 1.6s in Aragon FP1

Marc Marquez set a blistering pace in opening practice for MotoGP's Aragon Grand Prix, going 1.6 seconds faster than his nearest rival Maverick Vinales

Factory Honda rider Marquez quickly put himself 1.1s up on the field with a benchmark of 1m48.771s early on in the 45-minute Friday morning session, before working his way down to a 1m48.712s and then a 1m48.487s.

That was the quickest time until the closing minutes, when the reigning champion equipped a soft rear tyre to fire in a 1m47.030s - going two seconds faster than anyone else.

Marquez subsequently made one final improvement, posting a 1m46.689s to eclipse last year's pole position time set by Jorge Lorenzo and coming within two tenths of the all-time record Marquez himself set back in 2015.

Just one rider was able to come within two seconds of Marquez's fastest time, Yamaha's Vinales, who ended up 1.617s adrift of the pace with his final flyer.

Misano runner-up Fabio Quartararo was next on the Petronas SRT Yamaha, 2.001s slower than Marquez, and 0.019s ahead of Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso.

Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) and Joan Mir (Suzuki) set identical times to end up fifth and sixth, Miller's time being set first, ahead of Danilo Petrucci's Ducati.

The top 10 was completed by Pol Espargaro on the best of the KTMs, Franco Morbidelli on the second SRT Yamaha and Takaaki Nakagami's LCR Honda.

Alex Rins was 12th-fastest on the second Suzuki, the early part of his session having been disrupted by a mechanical problem that required him to pull off the track.

Valentino Rossi endured a low-key start to the weekend in 17th place, over three seconds off the pace, while Mika Kallio (pictured above) began his tenure as Johann Zarco's replacement at KTM in 19th.

Lorenzo was slowest of all in 23rd on the second of the works Hondas, four seconds off the pace and behind Aprilia wildcard Bradley Smith.

Practice one times

Pos Rider Team Bike Time Gap Laps
1 Marc Marquez Honda Honda 1m46.869s - 19
2 Maverick Vinales Yamaha Yamaha 1m48.486s 1.617s 16
3 Fabio Quartararo Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m48.870s 2.001s 19
4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati 1m48.889s 2.020s 17
5 Jack Miller Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m49.101s 2.232s 18
6 Joan Mir Suzuki Suzuki 1m49.101s 2.232s 19
7 Danilo Petrucci Ducati Ducati 1m49.230s 2.361s 16
8 Pol Espargaro KTM KTM 1m49.300s 2.431s 17
9 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m49.304s 2.435s 19
10 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda Honda 1m49.443s 2.574s 18
11 Miguel Oliveira Tech3 KTM KTM 1m49.445s 2.576s 17
12 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Aprilia 1m49.508s 2.639s 15
13 Alex Rins Suzuki Suzuki 1m49.565s 2.696s 16
14 Tito Rabat Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m49.607s 2.738s 18
15 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda Honda 1m49.709s 2.840s 18
16 Andrea Iannone Aprilia Aprilia 1m49.809s 2.940s 18
17 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Yamaha 1m49.913s 3.044s 19
18 Francesco Bagnaia Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m50.122s 3.253s 15
19 Mika Kallio KTM KTM 1m50.128s 3.259s 18
20 Karel Abraham Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m50.155s 3.286s 16
21 Hafizh Syahrin Tech3 KTM KTM 1m50.418s 3.549s 17
22 Bradley Smith Aprilia Aprilia 1m50.455s 3.586s 17
23 Jorge Lorenzo Honda Honda 1m51.034s 4.165s 17


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