MotoGP Mugello: Andrea Dovizioso fastest for Ducati in practice
Andrea Dovizioso began Ducati's home MotoGP weekend at Mugello by beating Jorge Lorenzo to the top spot in opening Italian Grand Prix practice
Dovizioso and Yamaha rider Lorenzo - winner of the last two grands prix - exchanged first place several times during the session and rapidly got within two tenths of the track's lap record.
Ducati briefly looked set for a one-two as Andrea Iannone slotted into second, just 0.047 seconds slower than Dovizioso's 1m47.893s, in the closing moments.
But Lorenzo was still on a better lap and squeezed in between the Ducatis, 0.033s slower than Dovizioso and 0.014s ahead of Iannone.
Ducati had three riders in the top five, although Yonny Hernandez's fifth place owed something to tucking in behind Valentino Rossi for his best lap.
Marc Marquez was the best Honda man in fourth, while Rossi ended up sixth.
Three British riders got into the top 10 - Scott Redding taking an eye-catching seventh on the Marc VDS Honda, Bradley Smith taking eighth for Tech 3 Yamaha and Cal Crutchlow putting the LCR Honda 10th, with Smith's team-mate Pol Espargaro between them.
Espargaro having a trip through the gravel at the San Donato corner was one of the few incidents in a trouble-free session that took place in ideal weather conditions.
Dani Pedrosa was only 11th fastest, while Suzuki struggled - Maverick Vinales its leading rider in 15th.
FREE PRACTICE ONE TIMES
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m47.893s | 13 |
| 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 0.033s | 17 |
| 3 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 0.047s | 17 |
| 4 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 0.135s | 18 |
| 5 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.411s | 19 |
| 6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 0.432s | 18 |
| 7 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS | Honda | 0.447s | 19 |
| 8 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 0.456s | 21 |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 0.497s | 19 |
| 10 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 0.566s | 18 |
| 11 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 0.648s | 21 |
| 12 | Michele Pirro | Ducati | Ducati | 0.721s | 17 |
| 13 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.723s | 18 |
| 14 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 0.782s | 14 |
| 15 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1.207s | 18 |
| 16 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 1.368s | 18 |
| 17 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1.585s | 11 |
| 18 | Karel Abraham | AB Motoracing | Honda | 1.676s | 18 |
| 19 | Loris Baz | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1.768s | 18 |
| 20 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Honda | 1.922s | 19 |
| 21 | Jack Miller | LCR | Honda | 1.962s | 16 |
| 22 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 2.029s | 17 |
| 23 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 2.083s | 15 |
| 24 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 2.584s | 16 |
| 25 | Alex de Angelis | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 3.268s | 18 |
| 26 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 4.623s | 17 |
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