MotoGP Austrian GP: Zarco edges Quartararo to top first practice

As has been the case since the British GP, the opening 45-minute session of the weekend does not count towards the qualifying groups for Saturday.

Run under dry conditions, Zarco fired in a 1m29.838s after switching to a fresh medium rear tyre to end first practice 0.399 seconds clear of the field.

He bested 2021 world champion Quartararo and the Aprilia of Maverick Vinales.

Vinales set the early pace on his RS-GP with a 1m31.751s before Ducati’s Enea Bastianini edged ahead with a 1m30.852s inside the first six minutes of the session.

A subsequent 1m30.270s re-established Vinales at the top of the order, which stood as the benchmark for around the next eight minutes.

Continuing to run the new aerodynamic package he raced at the British GP, Yamaha’s Quartararo deposed his former team-mate with a 1m30.237s as the clock ticked into the final half an hour.

Quartararo, who has topped just two warm-up sessions across 2023 so far, looked on course to end FP1 fastest of all as the chequered flag neared.

But a final flyer for Zarco on his Pramac-run Ducati ensured he saw out opening practice on top.

Behind the top three came Gresini’s Alex Marquez on a 1m30.286s. He was forced to park up early on in the session due to an apparent front fork issue, which led to smoke bellowing out of his bike every time he touched the front brake.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

Marco Bezzecchi completed the top five on his VR46 Ducati from Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Takaaki Nakagami was the leading Honda runner in seventh on his LCR-run bike.

Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia holds a 41-point advantage coming to Austria and was eighth at the end of FP1 on his factory Ducati from British GP winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and 2021 Red Bull Ring race victor Jorge Martin (Pramac).

Bastianini, who was on pole in Austria last year, was 11th ahead of the factory Honda of Joan Mir – who also tested a new aero package - and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli, while Brad Binder was the leading KTM in 14th.

Marc Marquez crashed in the closing stages after running off into the gravel down at the Turn 4 right-hander – the Honda rider losing his balance as he tried to steer out of the stones.

He was 18th at the chequered flag ahead of Tech3 rookie Augusto Fernandez, who was the only other faller in that session at the Turn 2 chicane.

MotoGP Austrian GP - FP1 results

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

         

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	J. Zarco Johann Zarco Pramac Racing	5		Ducati	20	1'29.838		173.352	311
2	F. Quartararo Fabio Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	24	+0.399	0.399	172.585	307
3	M. Viñales Maverick Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12		Aprilia	21	+0.411	0.012	172.562	309
4	A. Marquez Alex Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	20	+0.448	0.037	172.491	313
5	M. Bezzecchi Marco Bezzecchi Team VR46	72		Ducati	21	+0.467	0.019	172.455	314
6	F. Di Giannantonio Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini Racing	49		Ducati	18	+0.469	0.002	172.451	309
7	T. Nakagami Takaaki Nakagami Team LCR	30		Honda	22	+0.500	0.031	172.392	309
8	F. Bagnaia Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Team	1		Ducati	21	+0.529	0.029	172.337	311
9	A. Espargaro Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41		Aprilia	18	+0.538	0.009	172.320	309
10	J. Martin Jorge Martin Pramac Racing	89		Ducati	21	+0.591	0.053	172.219	311
11	E. Bastianini Enea Bastianini Ducati Team	23		Ducati	20	+0.621	0.030	172.161	313
12	J. Mir Joan Mir Repsol Honda Team	36		Honda	19	+0.622	0.001	172.160	309
13	F. Morbidelli Franco Morbidelli Yamaha Factory Racing	21		Yamaha	22	+0.804	0.182	171.814	306
14	B. Binder Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	24	+0.908	0.104	171.617	310
15	L. Marini Luca Marini Team VR46	10		Ducati	20	+0.940	0.032	171.556	309
16	P. Espargaro Pol Espargaro Tech 3	44		KTM	19	+0.959	0.019	171.521	311
17	M. Oliveira Miguel Oliveira RNF Racing	88		Aprilia	20	+0.983	0.024	171.475	307
18	M. Marquez Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team	93		Honda	21	+1.018	0.035	171.409	309
19	A. Fernandez Augusto Fernandez Tech 3	37		KTM	23	+1.182	0.164	171.100	309
20	R. Fernández Raúl Fernández RNF Racing	25		Aprilia	19	+1.394	0.212	170.703	309
21	L. Savadori Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Racing Team	32		Aprilia	17	+1.445	0.051	170.607	307
22	J. Miller Jack Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43		KTM	21	+1.528	0.083	170.452	307
23	I. Lecuona Iker Lecuona Team LCR	27		Honda	22	+2.047	0.519	169.490	309
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