PHOTOGRAPHY GOLD & GOOSE
Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo topped the timesheets in a scorching hot opening day at the Brno circuit for the Czech MotoGP.
The Spaniard recorded a 1:56.449 in the opening session, which was good enough to claim the top spot in the combined FP1 and FP2 sessions as track temperatures soared into the 120-degree mark and grip level dropped off dramatically.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez closed out day one just 0.014sec off Lorenzo’s pace, although he did suffer two crashes across the day. Ducati’s Andrea Iannone was next on the timesheets, with Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finishing the day fourth. Like Marquez, Pedrosa too went down in FP2 in a nasty crash when oil leaked onto his rear wheel and sent him into the gravel trap. Pedrosa sat out the rest of the day.
Valentino Rossi was another faller as he ran over the oil of Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda, crashing at turn 13. The Italian sits a worrying 0.539sec down on his teammate Lorenzo, ending day one in sixth place.
Czech Republic MotoGP combined FP1 and FP2 times
1 J Lorenzo 1:56.499
2 M Marquez 1:56.513 +0.014
3 A Iannone 1:56.750 +0.237
4 D Pedrosa 1:56.784 +0.034
5 A Dovizioso 1:56.821 +0.037
6 V Rossi 1’57.038 +0.217
7 P Espargaro 1:57.078 +0.040
8 B Smith 1:57.137 +0.059
9 A Espargaro 1:57.202 +0.065
10 C Crutchlow 1:57.229 +0.027
