Andrea Dovizioso set the fastest time in Argentina in the dying seconds of FP1. With a best lap of 1:43.684 on his Ducati, he was just 0.094 quicker than Marc Marquez on the Repsol Honda. Yonny Hernandez was third quickest on his Aspar Ducati.
The provisional third row is made up of Maverick Vinales in fourth, his Suzuki teammate Aleix Espargaró in fifth and Valentino Rossi on Movistar Yamaha in sixth. Rossi wasn’t in a hurry to get out on the dirt track and waited for conditions to improve before nailing a quick time.
Dani Pedrosa finished the session in seventh on his Repsol Honda, but the surprise of the session came from Aussie Jack Miller on his Estrella Galicia Honda. Though he eighth at the chequered flag, he utilised his motocross skills on the dirty track and spent most of the session at the top of the timing sheet.
Bradley Smith ended the session in ninth on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3, with fellow Brit Scott Redding rounding out the top 10 on his Pramac Ducati.
Dovizioso’s quickest lap was more than four and a half seconds off of Rossi’s circuit record set last year. Times are expected to get a lot quicker in FP2 later this afternoon, however weather conditions are expected to come into play during the weekend.
Rain is due at some point before Saturday’s qualifying, and so riders will be keen to set a quick FP2 time to secure a place in Saturday’s Q2. Reigning champion and current championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in particular will want to improve on his 12th position.
Danilo Petrucci is still absent due to his broken hand. Ducati test rider Michele Pirro is currently on his way to the circuit to replace him and will take to the track on Saturday.
