Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales classified top of the charts in the opening MotoGP practice session to take place in Mugello ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard is aiming to rebound from a challenging outing at Le Mans last weekend and started on the right note as he posted a 1:46.140s to lead the timesheets.
In recent weeks Yamaha hosted private tests to add developments to its bike which so far has paid dividends as Fabio Quartararo finished in a surprise second place.
Franco Morbidelli finished as the lead Ducati, with GasGas rider Pedro Acosta sandwiched between the Pramac pair as championship leader Jorge Martin was fifth.
Marc Marquez is striving to avoid having to recover from down the order as he has done in previous rounds and he had an encouraging start with sixth on his Gresini.
Aleix Espargaro maintained his rise in form following last weekend’s Catalan pole and Sprint exploits, edging ahead of reigning double champion Francesco Bagnaia.
After an initial time that put him on top of the timesheets, Alex Rins soon fell off his bike in the following stint, but he backed up Yamaha’s strong pace in ninth position.
Gresini had both riders situated in the top 10 spots as Alex Marquez pipped GasGas’ Raul Fernandez as less than a tenth separated the two riders in the classification.
The factory KTM team struggled through the session with Jack Miller ending the session a lonely 12th, while team-mate Brad Binder finished two places back in 14th.
Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio put their season-old Ducati bikes in the mix with the KTM riders, with respective placings of 13th and 16th on the board.
KTM provided a wildcard outing for Pol Espargaro, who makes his return to the grid since converting to a test role with the Austrian outfit, and he slotted in 15th place.
Miguel Oliveira struggled to perfect his lap time and was 17th, but the more surprising result was factory Ducati rider Enea Bastianini rounding off the session in 18th.
Once again Honda struggled, but it was Luca Marini who finished as the top rider for the manufacturer in a still-below-par 19th.
Augusto Fernandez continued his poor showings on the GasGas KTM to finish in a lacklustre 20th, ahead of LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami.
The Japanese rider continued his stronger showings on the Honda, finishing ahead of Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir and team-mate Johann Zarco.
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori received another wildcard opportunity for the weekend, as he occupied the final place in the final classification.
