Espargaro gets up to speed quickest in Argentina MotoGP practice

Factory Suzuki rider Aleix Espargaro lead Ducati pair Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso in the opening practice session at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Suzuki's Aleix Espargaro was the rider quickest up to speed in Argentina, the Spaniard setting the fastest lap ahead of Iannone and Dovizioso in the slippery conditions.

Espargaro logged a best lap of 1m 40.806s, with the Ducati riders ending up 0.573 and 0.721s adrift respectively.

Yonny Hernandez was also quickly up to speed, ending the session fourth fastest with a best time of 1m41.785s. The Pramac Ducati rider was followed by Scott Redding on the Marc VDS Honda, and the Open class Aspar machine of Nicky Hayden.

The second Suzuki, in the hands of Maverick Vinales, lies in seventh place on the timing sheets as the Spanish rookie impressed once again. Mike Di Meglio was also rapid aboard the Avintia Ducati in 8th, as was Jack Miller in ninth on the Open class LCR Honda.

With track conditions far from ideal, there were a number of riders left outside the top 10, preferring to wait for more rubber to be laid down - including championship leader Valentino Rossi in 14th and his factory Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo in 20th. Austin winner Marc Marquez ended up 10th.

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Aleix Espargaro	Suzuki	1'40.806		16
2	Andrea Iannone	Ducati	1'41.379	0.573	15
3	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	1'41.527	0.721	17
4	Yonny Hernández	Ducati	1'41.785	0.979	17
5	Scott Redding	Honda	1'41.884	1.078	15
6	Nicky Hayden	Honda	1'41.932	1.126	15
7	Maverick Vinales	Suzuki	1'42.174	1.368	16
8	Mike Di Meglio	Ducati	1'42.246	1.440	13
9	Jack Miller	Honda	1'42.391	1.585	18
10	Marc Márquez	Honda	1'42.605	1.799	14
11	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia	1'42.828	2.022	16
12	Hector Barbera	Ducati	1'43.297	2.491	15
13	Alex de Angelis	ART/Aprilia	1'43.330	2.524	16
14	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	1'43.373	2.567	15
15	Pol Espargaro	Yamaha	1'43.390	2.584	16
16	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	1'43.891	3.085	15
17	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati	1'44.300	3.494	18
18	Eugene Laverty	Honda	1'44.313	3.507	19
19	Marco Melandri	Aprilia	1'44.572	3.766	14
20	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha	1'44.750	3.944	14
21	Karel Abraham	Honda	1'45.001	4.195	15
22	Bradley Smith	Yamaha	1'45.237	4.431	17
23	Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	1'45.688	4.882	18
24	Stefan Bradl	Yamaha Forward/Yamaha	1'45.747	4.941	16
25	Loris Baz	Yamaha Forward/Yamaha	1'46.239	5.433	16