Motegi MotoGP: Yamaha's Lorenzo fastest in first practice
Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo led Ducati rider Andrea Iannone in first practice for the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi
Lorenzo and team-mate Valentino Rossi were the only riders to sit at the top of the times during the session, with Rossi the first to set a representative lap, a 1m46.265s.
Lorenzo, who suffered a shoulder sprain in a mini-bike crash last weekend, improved to 1m45.654s shortly afterwards.
While that would have been good enough to top the session, he went faster again on two occasions inside the final 10 minutes, eventually setting a time of 1m45.432s on his last lap.
Iannone improved late to split the Yamaha pair, 0.395 seconds behind Lorenzo, with championship leader Rossi third, a further 0.017s adrift.
Tech 3 rider Bradley Smith jumped up to fourth after the chequered flag to make it three Yamahas inside the top four, ahead of Dani Pedrosa on the lead Honda.
Andrea Dovizioso was sixth, from reigning world champion Marc Marquez, who is nursing an injured left hand for the second time this season.
In a tight pack, just 0.141s covers Iannone in second and Honda's Marquez in seventh.
Brothers Aleix and Pol Espargaro were eighth and ninth, ahead of Stefan Bradl, who crashed his Gresini-run Aprillia at Turn 11 with 90 seconds remaining.
In Suzuki's first home MotoGP event since 2011, Aleix Espargaro's team-mate Maverick Vinales was 13th, having run wide at Turn 3 late in the session.
Other than Bradl, Jack Miller was the only other rider to fall, at Turn 10, on his way to 22nd.
PRACTICE ONE TMES:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m45.432s | - | 15 |
| 2 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 1m45.827s | 0.395s | 18 |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m45.844s | 0.412s | 19 |
| 4 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m45.888s | 0.456s | 19 |
| 5 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1m45.896s | 0.464s | 17 |
| 6 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m45.947s | 0.515s | 17 |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m45.965s | 0.533s | 17 |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m46.234s | 0.802s | 17 |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m46.323s | 0.891s | 18 |
| 10 | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m46.371s | 0.939s | 16 |
| 11 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 1m46.551s | 1.119s | 15 |
| 12 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m46.699s | 1.267s | 21 |
| 13 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m46.765s | 1.333s | 17 |
| 14 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m47.073s | 1.641s | 16 |
| 15 | Takumi Takahashi | Honda | Honda | 1m47.079s | 1.647s | 18 |
| 16 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS | Honda | 1m47.171s | 1.739s | 18 |
| 17 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 1m47.181s | 1.749s | 18 |
| 18 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m47.184s | 1.752s | 18 |
| 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m47.304s | 1.872s | 16 |
| 20 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m47.364s | 1.932s | 18 |
| 21 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m47.503s | 2.071s | 16 |
| 22 | Jack Miller | LCR | Honda | 1m47.539s | 2.107s | 16 |
| 23 | Toni Elias | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m47.626s | 2.194s | 17 |
| 24 | Loris Baz | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m48.083s | 2.651s | 18 |
| 25 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Honda | 1m48.625s | 3.193s | 18 |
| 26 | Alex de Angelis | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 1m49.277s | 3.845s | 17 |
| 27 | Kosuke Akiyoshi | AB Motoracing | Honda | 1m49.846s | 4.414s | 15 |
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