MotoGP Misano-2 FP1 LIVE: Johann Zarco dances in the rain!

Article updated continuously until the end of the session.

With the first match point for Fabio Quartararo, the last race of Valentino Rossi at home, the return of Marc Marquez in the foreground, theformalization of Darryn Binder in MotoGP in 2022,arrival of Ducati in MotoE in 2023 and probable announcement concerning the future VR46 team in the premier category, the program for this Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is ​​already more than tempting and will undoubtedly keep MotoGP enthusiasts in suspense until Sunday afternoon.

Many lines have already been written on all these subjects and it is probably not really useful to return to them at the moment: you already know everything there is to know, especially as for the fight for the title, the last edition, which took place at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli just a month ago, was won by Francis Bagnaia just 3 tenths ahead fabio quartararo.

This won't help us much in determining a favorite for the race between the two championship leaders separated by 52 points in favor of the Frenchman! One will therefore be prey to the pressure of double or nothing on a route where he excels (victory in September, leading the race in 2020), while the other will in theory have to know how to ensure the essentials, even if that. if necessary, to have to wait for its consecration until Portugal… But The Devil will it still come out of its box on Sunday, an expected dry day?

In fact, the only thing really certain concerns the temperatures, expected around 12° on Sunday, much lower than the 26° of the September race. Will this change the hierarchy for the top players in the category? We'll know in a few hours...

While waiting for this perhaps decisive day for the championship, the temperatures this morning are 17° in the air and 14° on the asphalt, while the track is wet but it is no longer raining despite a very heavy sky .

By the time the 24 pilots (Lorenzo Savadori et Michele Pirro being wildcards for Aprilia and Ducati) are preparing for this first 45-minute session, let's enjoy these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :

Misano-2 MotoGP™	09/2021	10/2021
FP1	1'32.666 Maverick Vinales (See here)	1'42.374 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP2	1'42.097 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP3	1'31.936 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP4	1'32.197 Fabio Quartararo (See here)
Q1	1'31.876 Enea Bastianini (See here)
Q2	1'31.065 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Warm Up	1'32.521 Alex Rins (See here)
Course	Bagnaia, Quatararo, Batianini (See here)
All time lap record	1'31.065 Francesco Bagnaia 2021 (See here)

When the red lights go out... Alex Marquez rushes first, Jack Miller the last.

Everyone is on soft rain tires, front and rear.

At the end of a fast-paced first lap which saw the return of the rain, and consequently the minor fall ofAlex Marquez at turn #2 then that of Brad Binder at turn #8, the first reference is entered by Iker Lecuona in 1'46.696.

Miguel Oliveira then achieves 1'45.532 in front Francis Bagnaia before handing over command to Jack Miller in 1'45.027. The Portuguese driver, however, confirms his good form in these conditions by regaining leadership in 1'44.425 in his fourth flying lap.

After 10 minutes, Alex Espargaro has still not set a time even though the Catalan driver completed two laps, returning to his box each time.

Francis Bagnaia joins the fight in the lead in 1'44.406 but it's good Jack Miller which crosses the barrier of 1'44 for 1/1000, in 1'43.999.

A quarter of an hour into the session, the rain intensifies and almost all the drivers return to their boxes... with the notable exception of Francesco Bagnaia which clearly shows that he intends to fight whatever the conditions!

At this point in the session, the hierarchy is made up of Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia, Miguel Oliveira, Marc Márquez, Iker Lecuona, Johann Zarco, Franco Morbidelli, Jorge Martin, Fabio Quartararo, Danilo Petrucci, Michele Pirro, Alex Rins, Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales, Luca Marini, Pol Espargaro, Enea Bastianini , Joan Mir, Lorenzo Savadori, Andrea Dovizioso, Nakagami, Brad Binder, Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro still without a timer halfway through the session.

A little half of the pilots, including Fabio Quartararo, then returns to the track gradually, more to familiarize himself with the grip than to tease the time...

15 minutes before the checkered flag, however, some drivers began to improve their partials, like Joan mir who achieved his best time and took 13th position, then Johann zarco which goes from 6th to 4th place. The Ducatis dance in the rain…

In the process, the Frenchman moved up to 2nd position, giving Ducati the first three places of the session. The Pramac driver lights the first three sectors in red, and despite finding himself stuck behind Alex Rins, he achieved the best provisional time in 1'43.836!

In the following passages, John Zarco registered 1'43.395 then 1'43.087, before Francis Bagnaia makes a minor mistake at turn #8.

In the wake, Lorenzo Savadori fall at turn #10.

In extremis, Johann zarco improves again in 1'42.374 and Marc Marquez gets 2nd place! The level of confidence is rising…

Emilia Romagna MotoGP Grand Prix FP1 results at Misano:

Credit Ranking: motogp.com