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Argentina GP: Marquez leads Miller in first practice

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez commanded the opening practice session for this week's Argentina Grand Prix, beating Jack Miller by over three tenths of a second.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

motosport.com

Marquez was the first rider to dip into the 1m40s at the Termas de Rio Hondo track, and early on in the 45-minute session he enjoyed a one-second buffer over the opposition.

That was eroded in the latter stages, but the Honda rider was always able to stay a step ahead of his rivals, setting two times good enough to top the session.

A 1m39.885s put him just under three tenths ahead of Pramac Ducati rider Miller, before a 1m39.827s at the chequered flag left him 0.353s in the clear.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) briefly went second-quickest in the final five minutes but was beaten to the runner-up spot by Miller by just 0.035s.

Best of the Yamahas was Petronas SRT rider Franco Morbidelli, 0.492s off the pace in fourth, while Aprilia's Andrea Iannone and KTM's Johann Zarco both posted times within six tenths of Marquez to complete the top six.

Qatar winner Andrea Dovizioso was seventh on the best of the works Ducatis, followed by Fabio Quartararo (Petronas), top Suzuki man Alex Rins and factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, who completed the top 10 with a time exactly one second slower than Marquez.

Jorge Lorenzo had a low-key start to the Termas weekend with 14th place in FP1, 1.513s adrift, as he recovers from injuries sustained earlier this month in Qatar.

Maverick Vinales likewise suffered an indifferent session, albeit having said he would use it trying to practice overtaking rivals rather than focussing on outright pace.

Vinales ended the session in 18th, 0.830s behind works Yamaha teammate Rossi.

Danilo Petrucci was one of two riders to crash at Turn 1 - the other being Suzuki's Joan Mir - and consequently ended up down in 20th, ahead of only Pramac's Francesco Bagnaia and Tech 3 KTM rider Hafizh Syahrin.

Practice times:

Pos. # Rider Bike Time Gap
1 93 Spain Marc Marquez  Honda 1'39.827  
2 43 Australia Jack Miller  Ducati 1'40.180 0.353
3 35 United Kingdom Cal Crutchlow  Honda 1'40.215 0.388
4 21 Italy Franco Morbidelli  Yamaha 1'40.319 0.492
5 29 Italy Andrea Iannone  Aprilia 1'40.366 0.539
6 5 France Johann Zarco  KTM 1'40.387 0.560
7 4 Italy Andrea Dovizioso  Ducati 1'40.595 0.768
8 20 France Fabio Quartararo  Yamaha 1'40.676 0.849
9 42 Spain Alex Rins  Suzuki 1'40.821 0.994
10 46 Italy Valentino Rossi  Yamaha 1'40.827 1.000
11 30 Japan Takaaki Nakagami  Honda 1'40.857 1.030
12 44 Spain Pol Espargaro  KTM 1'41.066 1.239
13 41 Spain Aleix Espargaro  Aprilia 1'41.303 1.476
14 99 Spain Jorge Lorenzo  Honda 1'41.340 1.513
15 53 Spain Tito Rabat  Ducati 1'41.509 1.682
16 88 Portugal Miguel Oliveira  KTM 1'41.513 1.686
17 17 Czech Republic Karel Abraham  Ducati 1'41.641 1.814
18 12 Spain Maverick Viñales  Yamaha 1'41.657 1.830
19 36 Spain Joan Mir  Suzuki 1'41.692 1.865
20 9 Italy Danilo Petrucci  Ducati 1'41.768 1.941
21 63 Italy Francesco Bagnaia  Ducati 1'41.875 2.048
22 55 Malaysia Hafizh Syahrin  KTM 1'42.679 2.852

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