LIVE MotoGP Jerez 2 FP1: Yamaha and KTM crush the competition!

After the very/too long awaited Spanish Grand Prix which rewarded us with a superb victory for Fabio Quartararo on the Jerez circuit, his immediate clone, the Andalusian Grand Prix now presents itself with a very particular tension.

The completely unexpected return of Marc Marquez after his right humerus fracture will probably be the main center of interest this weekend, with the Honda rider expected to take to the track on Saturday, but there are also many questions whose answers will be interesting to foreshadow the rest of the championship.

First of all, how will the times and the hierarchy evolve when, for the first time in the history of Grands Prix, two competitions take place on the same circuit one week apart, and what's more, under the same conditions? global?

Will Honda and Suzuki be able to turn things around after a disastrous first Sunday? What will the three wounded people from the first chapter be able to do? Marc Márquez, Alex Rins et Cal Crutchlow ? And what about the engine problems apparently encountered by Yamaha Factory during the first edition of this clash in Andalusia?

fabio quartararo will he be able to repeat, for the third time in a row, a new pole position on the Jerez de la Frontera track? Jack Miller will he, as he thinks, be able to join the podium?

So many questions to which this first free practice session of what we call “Jerez 2” will begin to provide some answers, with temperatures of 26° in the air and 27° on the track at the start of the 45 minutes of said session.

Rather surprisingly, before the MotoGP entered the track, the Moto3 had just been slower than during FP1 of the Spanish Grand Prix… An indication of the condition of the track?

MotoGP ™	2020 Jerez 1	2020 Jerez 2
FP1	1'37.350 Marc Márquez (see here)	1'37.063 Maverick Viñales (see here)
FP2	1'38.125 Franco Morbidelli (see here)
FP3	1'36.806 Fabio Quartararo (see here)
FP4	1'37.837 Marc Márquez (see here)
Q1	1'37.063 Alex Rins (see here)
Q2	1'36.705 Fabio Quartararo (see here)
warm up	1'37.883 Marc Márquez (see here)
Course	Quartararo, Vinales, Dovizioso
All time lap record	1'36.705 Fabio Quartararo (2020)

When the red lights go out, Bradley Smith is the first to put its wheels on the Andalusian route. All the others follow, or almost, since as announced, Marc Marquez don't take the track this morning and save yourself for tomorrow.

Most riders chose a soft front tire and a medium rear tire.

At the end of the first round, Aleix Espargaro registered the first provisional reference in 1'39.205.

In the next passage, Pol I will espargaro made a giant leap by seizing the leadership 1'37.790, a time almost identical to that of his qualification last week.

He is followed by Brad Binder, which gives us for a moment the unusual spectacle of two KTMs at the top of the ranking, and three in the Top 5 with the machine of Miguel Oliveira !

fabio quartararo however, comes between the two leading RC16s, soon followed by his teammate Franco Morbidelli.

Pol I will espargaro improves again in 1'37.497 while, conversely, alex rins appears to be suffering physically, in last position.

The end of the first run, the hierarchy is composed of Pol Espargaró, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales, Franco Morbidelli, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira, Takaaki Nakagami, Valentino Rossi, Iker Lecuona, Danilo Petrucci, Johann Zarco, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Álex Márquez, Joan Mir, Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow , Bradley Smith, Pecco Bagnaia, Tito Rabat and Alex Rins.

On resumption, Valentino Rossi rises to 6th position, which offers a provisional ranking composed only of KTM and Yamaha in the first 7 places!

This says a lot about the difficulties currently encountered by Honda and Suzuki but it is more surprising for the Ducati…

And precisely, a little after mid-session, it’s John Zarco who takes the torch from Borgo Panigale, progressing first to sixth position, then to fourth.

Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales increase their pace and position themselves 2nd and 3rd while the first 14 stay within the same second. Pol I will espargaro However, it precedes the rest of the field by more than 3/10.

15 minutes from the end of the session, most of the drivers return to their box and we can assume that some will switch to a soft rear tire to take advantage of the relatively cool morning temperatures in order to guarantee a direct passage into Q2, the day of tomorrow is expected to be warmer…

The ranking is then composed of Pol Espargaró, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Valentino Rossi, Miguel Oliveira, Takaaki Nakagami, Iker Lecuona, Danilo Petrucci, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Andrea Dovizioso, Álex Márquez, Joan Mir, Pecco Bagnaia, Bradley Smith , Cal Crutchlow, Tito Rabat and Alex Rins.

There are less than 10 minutes left when the drivers return to the track and, indeed Pol Espargaró, Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, Jack Miller, Johann Zarco, Takaaki Nakagami, Danilo Petrucci, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Álex Marquez and Tito Rabat chose to leave with a soft tire…

fabio quartararo widens a little and loses a first attempt

Franco Morbidelli climbs to the top of the ranking in 1'37.416 while Brad Binder is positioned third and Iker Lecuona seventh.

Takaaki Nakagami goes fourth and Jack Miller third but it is Valentino Rossi who created a surprise by taking provisional pole position in 1'37.205.

Maverick Vinales is the last to pass a soft rear tire in this session and takes the opportunity to place himself immediately behind the doctor.

The Catalan driver continued his effort and dethroned his teammate, in 1'37.063.

In the end, a very atypical but fast session, with the very good progress of the KTMs on a relatively fresh track, and the leap forward achieved by Valentino Rossi since last week. Conversely, two of the three men on the podium at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix did not really take advantage of this session to guarantee themselves a place in Q2. Let's wait for the explanations...

FP1 ranking of the MotoGP Andalusian grand prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com