Practice report
MotoGP Spanish GP
Spanish MotoGP: Binder leads Espargaro, Marquez in FP1
KTM’s Brad Binder topped a tight opening practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez by 0.191 seconds from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: Apr 30, 2021, 12:23 PM
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MotoGP returns to Jerez in wildly different conditions to what it found during last year’s double-header run in scorching weather in July.
In the cooler conditions, the top spot changed hands at a frenetic pace as Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro set the early pace with a 1m40.834s.
This was quickly usurped by championship leader Fabio Quartararo, with the Yamaha rider edging ahead with a 1m40.661s before teammate Maverick Vinales dipped into the 1m39s with a 1m39.792s.
Espargaro, Quartararo and Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli continued to trade top spot as the opening 15 minutes of FP1 wore on.
It was the former on the Aprilia who set the benchmark with a 1m38.260s, before eventually bettering that with a 1m38.204s with just over seven minutes remaining.
This came under fire right at the end of the session, when KTM’s Binder started lighting up the timing screens.
Having made a tough start to 2021, largely as a result of Michelin’s front tyre allocation at the opening rounds, one-time race winner Binder shot to the top of the order with a 1m38.013s to end FP1 on top.
Aleix Espargaro held onto second with his 1m38.204s, while Honda’s Marc Marquez completed the top three as he returns to the scene of his season-ending accident last year.
Marquez headed Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and Quartararo, with Pramac’s Johann Zarco rounding out the top six on his Ducati.
Miguel Oliveira completed a strong morning for KTM in seventh ahead of the second works team Honda of Pol Espargaro, while Vinales and reigning world champion Joan Mir on the Suzuki completed the top 10.
Morbidelli slipped to 12th at the chequered flag ahead of Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori and Suzuki’s Alex Rins, with HRC wildcard Stefan Bradl in 15th.
Jack Miller made a low-key start to proceedings on his factory Ducati in 17th, though was only 0.858s off the pace.
Rossi was 20th after a quick start to FP1, while Jorge Martin’s injury stand-in Tito Rabat was 21st in his first MotoGP appearance since losing his Avintia ride at the end of last year.
FP1 results:
Cla # Rider Bike Laps Time Gap 1 33 Brad Binder
KTM 19 1'38.013 2 41 Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia 18 1'38.204 0.191 3 93 Marc Marquez
Honda 20 1'38.291 0.278 4 63 Francesco Bagnaia
Ducati 22 1'38.301 0.288 5 20 Fabio Quartararo
Yamaha 19 1'38.344 0.331 6 5 Johann Zarco
Ducati 19 1'38.397 0.384 7 88 Miguel Oliveira
KTM 18 1'38.398 0.385 8 44 Pol Espargaro
Honda 19 1'38.433 0.420 9 12 Maverick Viñales
Yamaha 22 1'38.434 0.421 10 36 Joan Mir
Suzuki 15 1'38.484 0.471 11 30 Takaaki Nakagami
Honda 19 1'38.484 0.471 12 21 Franco Morbidelli
Yamaha 21 1'38.492 0.479 13 32 Lorenzo Savadori
Aprilia 17 1'38.630 0.617 14 42 Alex Rins
Suzuki 18 1'38.706 0.693 15 6 Stefan Bradl
Honda 19 1'38.764 0.751 16 73 Alex Marquez
Honda 20 1'38.819 0.806 17 43 Jack Miller
Ducati 19 1'38.871 0.858 18 9 Danilo Petrucci
KTM 19 1'39.054 1.041 19 23 Enea Bastianini
Ducati 20 1'39.110 1.097 20 46 Valentino Rossi
Yamaha 20 1'39.299 1.286 21 53 Tito Rabat
Ducati 21 1'39.502 1.489 22 10 Luca Marini
Ducati 19 1'39.531 1.518 23 27 Iker Lecuona
KTM 19 1'39.825 1.812 View full results
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