The first day of free practice went averagely for Valentino, with the ninth time 0.640 behind Marc Marquez's best time. This tenth position provisionally qualifies directly for Q2, but progress will have to be made during the third free practice session because the other competitors will certainly improve their performances.
The first session of the morning had not been satisfactory, with only the seventeenth time for Red, 2.988 behind the reigning World Champion's best time. But Vale was not in his best form, having drawn heavily on his physical reserves during the Italian Grand Prix to finish fourth, following his accident during motocross training.
Valentino progressed very clearly in the afternoon, going from 1'48.863 to 1'45.118, which brought him into the top 10. His margin for improvement is significant, and he should be able to advance to Q2 without too much problem. , as was the case at all Grands Prix this year. Qualified seventh in Argentina and Jerez, he was otherwise on the front row in Austin with third position, as well as at Le Mans and Mugello with second.
According to Valentino Rossi, “It was a shame that the track was wet in FP1, which meant the first session was just a waste of time. It was wet until the end. This hurt us, because unlike Honda and Ducati, we weren't here during testing, so we definitely needed two full sessions today.
“We have a lot of work to do. But in the end, FP2 was the only meaningful session... Honestly, my performance in the afternoon was fantastic. My pace with the racing tires could be seen, I can tell from the start.
“We made some changes. I think that Márquez, Lorenzo and Dovi have a better race pace than me. But afterwards, we didn't drive optimally with the soft rear tire. In addition, we can advance the development until tomorrow for qualification. I'm now only tenth, so I'm waiting for improvement.
“It is also true that, apart from Márquez, no one is out of reach for me. Second position is not far away. Just 0,4 seconds.”
Results of the first day of free practice revised:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Repsol Honda Team-Honda 1'44.478
2 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati Team-Ducati 1'44.700
3 Jonas FOLGER-Monster Yamaha Tech 3-Yamaha 1'44.839
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati Team-Ducati 1'44.883
5 Danilo PETRUCCI-OCTO Pramac Racing-Ducati 1'44.890
6 Johann ZARCO-Monster Yamaha Tech 3-Yamaha 1'45.063
7 Dani PEDROSA-Repsol Honda Team-Honda 1'45.098
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Pull&Bear Aspar Team-Ducati 1'45.116
9 Valentino ROSSI-Movistar Yamaha MotoGP-Yamaha 1'45.118
10 Hector BARBERA-Reale Avintia Racing-Ducati 1'45.311
11 Scott REDDING-OCTO Pramac Racing-Ducati 1'45.375
12 Andrea IANNONE-Team SUZUKI ECSTAR-Suzuki 1'45.465
13 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia Racing Team Gresini-Aprilia 1'45.554
14 Loris BAZ-Reale Avintia Racing-Ducati 1'45.755
15 Sam LOWES-Aprilia Racing Team Gresini-Aprilia 1'45.760
16 Maverick VIÑALES-Movistar Yamaha MotoGP-Yamaha 1'45.810
17 Jack MILLER-EG 0,0 Marc VDS-Honda 1'45.868
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Pull&Bear Aspar Team-Ducati 1'45.932
19 Cal CRUTCHLOW-LCR Honda-Honda 1'45.967
20 Tito RABAT-EG 0,0 Marc VDS-Honda 1'46.229
21 Pol ESPARGARO-Red Bull KTM Factory Racing-KTM 1'46.946
22 Sylvain GUINTOLI-Team SUZUKI ECSTAR-Suzuki 1'47.002
23 Bradley SMITH-Red Bull KTM Factory Racing-KTM 1'47.892
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 105 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 79
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 75
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 68
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 64
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 46
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 41
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
Photos © Yamaha
