Vinales tops opening Italian MotoGP practice ahead of Zarco

Maverick Vinales kicked off the Italian Grand Prix weekend on top as he led Johann Zarco in opening practice from Mugello by over three-and-a-half tenths of a second.

Yamaha took control of the session early on as series leader Fabio Quartararo punched in a 1:47.566s to demote early leader Michele Pirro-who replaces the injured Jorge Martin at Pramac this weekend-before Vinales moved into second behind his team-mate.

Vinales swiftly deposed Quartararo from the top spot though with a rapid sequence of laps, a 1:47.130s just prior to mid-distance leaving him four-tenths clear at the head of the timesheets.

This was how it remained until the closing minutes of the test, Alex Rins leading Suzuki’s challenge for FP1 honours as he fired in a 1:47.085s to just squeak clear of the Yamaha, the Spaniard recovering well from an early off at the fast Arabbiata 1 right-hander at the start of the session, Rins re-joining the track having rode through the gravel on the exit of the bend.

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Vinales was not to be denied though as he posted a commanding 1:45.593s at the death to lay claim to the title of fastest man in FP1, a late improvement by Rins securing him third fastest as Zarco pipped him for second at the end.

The Pramac racer’s late effort was 0.209s down on Vinales’ benchmark, while Rins ended up just over two-tenths clear of reigning MotoGP champion team-mate Joan Mir in fourth, while Franco Morbidelli completed the top five for Petronas SRT Yamaha.

Francesco Bagnaia ended up sixth overall as the fastest of the factory Ducati men ahead of Pirro, while Quartararo was shuffled back to eighth as he failed to post an improved time as the session reached its climax.

Jack Miller was ninth fastest on the second official Desmosedici as he looks to grab a third successive premier class victory at a circuit Ducati has dominated in the recent past, while Miguel Oliveira flew the flag for KTM as he rounded out the top ten.

Takaaki Nakagami was Honda’s highest representative in 11^th just ahead of Pol Espargaro’s factory RC213-V and Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia.

Marc Marquez started the weekend slowly down in 16^th, the six time premier class champion just heading seven-time MotoGP title holder Valentino Rossi in 17^th.

Danilo Petrucci was brought firmly back down to earth with a bump following his impressive ride to fifth in the wet French GP two weeks ago as he managed only the 18th best gambit in FP1, just clear of the second LCR Honda of Alex Marquez.

Mugello, Friday, May 28, 2021