Espargaro quickest in practice for Catalonia MotoGP / Photo: © AFP
-
Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
-
India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
-
Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
-
Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
-
The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
-
Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
-
Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
-
Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
-
Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
-
Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
-
Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
-
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
-
Udinese Falls to Last Place in Serie A After Loss to Venezia
-
Arizona Voters Ban Speed Camera Expansion Amid Vandalism Crisis
-
BSG Chemie Leipzig Defeated by Regionalliga Leaders Rot-Weiß Erfurt
-
Dance Work 'On the Floor' Returns to SF to Explore Queer History and AIDS Crisis
-
Trump and Vance Pursue Secret Diplomacy with Iran Amid Military Pressure
-
Jimenez Extends Lead Over Anderson in Richmond Mayoral Race
-
Inside SFFILM’s Operations: Jordan Menashe on Managing Doc Stories Logistics
Espargaro quickest in practice for Catalonia MotoGP
Local boy Aleix Espargaro set the pace during Friday's two practice sessions for the Catalonia MotoGP, edging his Aprilia teammate Maverick Vinales.
Espargaro, who was born not far from the Barcelona circuit, was just over three-tenths of a second faster than his fellow Spaniard with the Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati-Gresini) just behind.
Official Ducati team riders Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller were fourth and seventh while world championship leader Fabio Quartararo could manage only the ninth fastest time over seven-tenths of a second behind Espargaro.
The reigning world champion, whose contract with Yamaha has been renewed until the end of the 2024 season, said he had been stymied by the poor grip of his tyres on the track.
"The track conditions are not good for me," said the Frenchman.
"When you put on new tyres but you feel like you've already done 10 laps with them... it was really bad."
One man missing from this weekend's race is six-time world champion Marc Marquez who has undergone surgery on his right arm in the United States, with doctors declaring on Friday the operation was successful.
Marquez will remain in America for a few days before returning to Spain to continue his recovery. He is expected to miss the rest of the 2022 season.
Top times from the first two practice sessions at the Catalonia MotoGP:
1. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 1min 39.402sec, 2. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) at 0.303, 3. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati-Gresini) 0.488, 4. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.548, 5. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 0.587, 6. Brad Binder (AFS/KTM) 0.681, 7. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati) 0.693, 8. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 0.699, 9. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 0.721, 10. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Yamaha) 0.802
J.Bergmann--BTB
