Jerez MotoGP: Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo tops first practice
Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo kicked off the Jerez MotoGP weekend in commanding form with the fastest time in Friday's opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix
Lorenzo's early 1m39.174s lap was unbeatable, and kept him half a second clear of the rest of the pack for most of the session.
The double MotoGP champion arrived at his first home race of 2015 under pressure after being outpaced by points-leading Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi in the opening rounds.
Lorenzo is yet to finish on the podium this season, amid unusual problems including illness and his helmet lining coming apart in the opening race, and is 29 points off Rossi in fourth in the standings.
His eventual practice one margin was only 0.049 seconds, as Aleix Espargaro put a soft tyre on his Suzuki in the closing minutes.
Espargaro might have gone faster still, but had a big moment on his second flying lap.
Marc Marquez managed a full session of running with his injured hand and was eighth fastest on the lead works Honda.
The top Honda was Cal Crutchlow's LCR example, which took third ahead of Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and Tech 3 Yamaha's Pol Espargaro.
Championship leader Rossi was 0.698s off Lorenzo's pace in sixth, followed by Maverick Vinales on the second Suzuki.
Hector Barbera's Avintia Ducati and Scott Redding's Marc VDS Honda completed the top 10 behind Marquez.
Loris Baz was the session's only crasher, and he was able to rejoin and briefly put his Forward Yamaha into the top 10 after chasing Marquez on a flying lap. He ended up 13th.
Follow the Jerez MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 races as they happen on AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live from 10:00am BST on Sunday.
PRACTICE ONE RESULTS:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m39.174s | - |
| 2 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m39.223s | 0.049s |
| 3 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 1m39.737s | 0.563s |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m39.742s | 0.568s |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m39.871s | 0.697s |
| 6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m39.872s | 0.698s |
| 7 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m39.909s | 0.735s |
| 8 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m39.914s | 0.740s |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m39.937s | 0.763s |
| 10 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS | Honda | 1m39.967s | 0.793s |
| 11 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m40.037s | 0.863s |
| 12 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 1m40.091s | 0.917s |
| 13 | Loris Baz | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m40.092s | 0.918s |
| 14 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Honda | 1m40.114s | 0.940s |
| 15 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m40.365s | 1.191s |
| 16 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m40.392s | 1.218s |
| 17 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 1m40.521s | 1.347s |
| 18 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m40.604s | 1.430s |
| 19 | Karel Abraham | AB Motoracing | Honda | 1m41.059s | 1.885s |
| 20 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Honda | Honda | 1m41.064s | 1.890s |
| 21 | Jack Miller | LCR | Honda | 1m41.201s | 2.027s |
| 22 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m41.416s | 2.242s |
| 23 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m41.433s | 2.259s |
| 24 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m41.914s | 2.740s |
| 25 | Alex de Angelis | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 1m42.333s | 3.159s |
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