MotoGP Austria FP1 LIVE: Johann Zarco sets a new record!

Article updated continuously until the end of the session

Between theousting, undoubtedly definitive, of Maverick Vinales from the Monster Energy Yamaha team, the arrival, as a safety measure, of a new Michelin symmetrical hard front tire replacing the asymmetrical one which had forced Miguel Oliveira to abandon, the birth of new message types on dashboards, the announcement of a new chicane in 2022 to slow down the drivers before the disastrous turn #3 on a route that is already not very attractive, and the news of a drastic financial reduction of Malaysian oil company Petronas in GP, we at least avoid the boredom and cloning of the Styrian Grand Prix for this Austrian Grand Prix which takes place a week after the first one, still on the Red Bull Ring.

Add to this a weather still uncertain of which we are not sure that it will save the races as much as it did last weekend, and, once again, if the most skilled will by definition be in front, it is very difficult to predict who will be on the podium next Sunday at 15 p.m.…

In the meantime, after four days of rest and media activities for the riders, it is time to get on the bikes and give way to sport.

By the time the 20 pilots (Lorenzo Savadori has been declared "unfit") are preparing under a clear sky and temperatures of 26° in the air and 27° on the asphalt, let's enjoy these few minutes of live broadcast thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

MotoGP™ Red Bull Ring	Styria 2021	Austria 2021
FP1	1'23.805 Takaaki Nakagami (See here)	1'22.827 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP2	1'31.304 Lorenzo Savadori (See here)
FP3	1'23.114 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP4	1'23.816 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'23.547 Alex Marquez (See here)
Q2	1'22.994 Jorge Martin (See here)
Warm-up	1'31.403 Marc Marquez (See here)
Course	Martin, Mir, Quartararo (See here)
All time lap record	1'22.994 Jorge Martin 2020 (See here)	1'22.827 Johann Zarco (See here)

When the red lights go out... Joan Mir and Alex Rins are the first to set off.

The start of FP1 is the moment when we pass the warmed tires from the previous Grand Prix. Everyone is equipped with a medium rear, while for the front the choices are shared between the soft and the medium.

Francis Bagnaia recorded a first reference in 1'25.405 at the end of his first flying lap, quickly undermined by Alex Marquez on the next passage in 1'24.185.

Takaaki Nakagami is in 1'23.966 during his third lap, already almost the best time of FP1 the previous week. The Japanese driver continued his momentum in 1'23.810 on the next pass.

Behind the representative of the rising sun, we find Fabio Quartararo, Marc Márquez, Johann Zarco, Joan Mir, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Pol Espargaro, Alex Márquez and Alex Rins to constitute the first provisional top 10 of the weekend, followed byAleix Espargaro, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini, Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder, Jack Miller, Danilo Petrucci, Valentino Rossi, Iker Lecuona and Cal Crutchlow.

Maverick Vinales watches all this from behind the fences, in official attire, as his contract requires. The Catalan pilot promises explanations as soon as possible…

On resumption, Alex Espargaro, who tries a hard tire at the front, comes in pushing his Aprilia while Johann zarco completes the third phase of the session. At this moment, the top four are separated by less than a tenth of a second...

Apart from that, the second run does not bring any changes to the ranking and you have to wait until the last 10 minutes to see things start to move…

Johann zarco pulls first, still on the medium rear tire, lighting the first two sectors in red but the attempt stops there.

Joan mir is the first to pass a soft rear tire…

The Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team is testing a wing on the rear of Iker Lecuona's bike... it's a first!

Without surprise, Joan mir took advantage of its soft rear tire to take provisional pole position in 1'23.625. alex rins follows the same strategy by giving its Suzuki the same envelope…

Johann zarco did the same and took command in 1'23.408! The Frenchman continued his effort and set a 1'22.827 on the next pass: a new absolute record!

Meanwhile, fabio quartararo experiences problems with his motorcycle and is forced to return with the van.

FP1 ranking Austrian MotoGP Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring: 

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com