Pedro Acosta topped MotoGP World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday morning at Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna, in Brazil. Riding his Michelin-shod Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16, the Spaniard turned a lap of 1:26.688 around the 2.38-mile (3.84 km) track and led the 22-rider field.
Jack Miller was second-best with a 1:26.775 on his Prima Pramac Yamaha YZR-M1.
Marco Bezzecchi was third with a lap of 1:26.918 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26.
Marc Marquez got fourth on his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP26 with a time of 1:26.975.
Franco Morbidelli crossed the finish line fifth with a lap time of 1:27.170 on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati Desmosedici GP25.
More from a press release issued by MotoGP:
Acosta edges out Miller, Bezzecchi third as MotoGP action opens in Brazil. The Championship leader takes to the top in our first session in Goiânia, with Miller for close company and Bezzecchi slotting into third.
MotoGP is officially back on track in Brazil! It was a little later than scheduled but the first session is very much in the books after a rainy morning in Goiânia – and it’s Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking the first top spot of the weekend with a 1:26.688. The extended session – as it’s a new venue – boiled up into a flurry of changes at the top of the timesheets, with Acosta edging out Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) by 0.087 and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) taking P3, 0.230 off the top.
Action got underway for the MotoGP class by midday after the rain delay, starting on wets before around half an hour to go saw the first rider have a go on slicks: Miller, as could be somewhat expected. When the Australian headed out it was tight at the top too, with Marc Marquez leading the way early on ahead of teammate Francesco Bagnaia by just 0.001, with Acosta just 0.004 off the top – but conditions kept changing as the track dried out.
They weren’t, however, really dry enough for slicks for some time after Miller’s experiment. The rest pounded on with wets, with Marc Marquez still top with a 1:27.7 ahead of Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Acosta third.
Into the final ten minutes, the timesheets absolutely lit up and the slicks came out. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) was leading with only a few minutes on the clock before a barrage of red sectors started coming in, and by the end of the flurry it was Acosta in charge – but not by much. The #37 pipped Miller to the top by just 0.87, with Bezzecchi slotting into third 0.230 off the top. Marc Marquez was demoted to fourth, another few hundredths in arrears, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) fifth and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) the last of the last minute pickpocketers edging Martin down to P7.
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) slots into eighth, 0.888 off the top. That’s no mean feat as he both returns from a broken leg and in a session with changing conditions tempting riders to walk the limit. He finished FP1 just ahead of Bagnaia and Alex Marquez.
There were no crashes in the session as the riders got themselves familiar with the Autodromo Ayrton Senna, with only a few moments seen out on track and a run off for Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) early in the session, no harm done.
Check out the full results from FP1 at the Brazilian GP HERE and come back for this afternoon as the Practice session gets underway to decide direct Q2 entrants from 16:00 (UTC-3)!
